When owls eat, they don’t have the best table manners. Unless the animal they are eating is too big, they swallow it whole.
Unlike many other birds, owls (and herons, grebes, cormorants, and several other types) don’t have a crop where they store food before it goes into their stomach. The eaten “food” goes straight into the glandular stomach where enzymes and acids begin the digestion. From there, the “food” passes into the muscular stomach which mushes up the softer parts of the victim, leaving behind only the undigestible parts like the bones, fur, and teeth (or feathers if it was a bird that they ate).
Then hours after the edible parts are liquefied and have passed through, the owl throws up the leftovers. The official way of saying that in “bird study talk” is that it casts a pellet.
Here is a pellet that an owl left behind on top of an upturned aluminum skiff in our back yard.
I got an old pair of tweezers and took the pellet apart to see if I could find the bones.
If you click on the photo, you may be able to get a better look.
To the right of the larger long bones, you can see five tiny claws and below those, I have laid out the very thin long bones that I think might be rib bones.
One piece of fur was not matted together, and I thought it looked like it might have belonged to a rat. Also, I think the long bones are too big for a mouse.
Below the piece of fur at the top of the bone collection, are some of the vertebrae.
Some parts are missing, and they might have passed through the owl, or possibly been part of a second casting. Just guessing here.
I made sure to wash my hands and sterilize the area where I put the bones and fur. If the owl’s meal was a rodent, it might have been carrying some bacteria or viruses.
Some people may find this post gruesome, but I thought it was a fascinating part of nature that we don’t often see.
April 4, 2024 at 11:58 am
Cool! This is something I would do!! In 6th grade I brought a dead bird to school that I had boiled and dissected! My mother wasn’t too pleased with the smells but encouraged my love of biology! So did the teacher. Love of science lead me to nursing I think and I am still enjoying nature in its rawest. We have a Great Horned Owl on the trail again and it is leaving these little treasures!
Juanita
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April 4, 2024 at 2:17 pm
Thanks for your comment, Juanita. It’s a great outlook to check out the science of nature rather than making squeamish “Eeugh” noises.
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April 4, 2024 at 12:02 pm
Wonderful Anneli. And all this amazingly complex and intricate stuff goes on quite automatically throughout the avian world, throughout the animal world, throughout all the worlds including that of mankind – breathing and heartbeats included – without any member of any of the worlds having to lift a finger. Or a claw, fin etc. How does all this happen?
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April 4, 2024 at 2:18 pm
It really is miraculous when you think of it in this way, Jeff – so many complicated procedures happening so easily and naturally.
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April 4, 2024 at 12:31 pm
OK, should have read this after lunch. Still interesting.
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April 4, 2024 at 2:12 pm
I should have put a warning at the top.
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April 4, 2024 at 1:11 pm
This was really fascinating, Anneli. What a pellet! You are becoming quite the anthropologist.
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April 4, 2024 at 2:11 pm
Thanks, Carol. I’m glad you saw the not-so-gruesome side of it.
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April 4, 2024 at 1:29 pm
You found lots of bones! 💀
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April 4, 2024 at 2:19 pm
I did, and many of them were very tiny.
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April 4, 2024 at 2:32 pm
Cool!
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April 4, 2024 at 2:01 pm
I’m always interested in learning about the natural world, nothing gruesome here.
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April 4, 2024 at 2:10 pm
Glad to know you are tough, Belinda.
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April 4, 2024 at 5:30 pm
I don’t think this is a project I’d take on, but I have reached the point where I’ll spend good time examining excrement. I can tell raccoon from feral hog from coyote, and thanks to you I might be able to identify a casting if I come across one.
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April 4, 2024 at 7:17 pm
Agreed! Completely fascinating. I remember my science teacher demonstrating this when I was in about grade 7. Thanks for the interesting post!
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April 4, 2024 at 8:46 pm
Thanks for reading and commenting, Lynette. I would have loved to do this at school, but it didn’t happen.
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April 5, 2024 at 3:07 am
Dear Anneli
fascinating!
Thanks for the info
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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April 5, 2024 at 8:13 am
Nature is full of fascinating things.
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April 5, 2024 at 3:44 am
Expert editor… and now, Medical Examiner. Your many talents amaze me, Anneli!
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April 5, 2024 at 8:12 am
LOL! Maybe I can get a new job!
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April 5, 2024 at 5:29 am
Fascinating!
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April 5, 2024 at 8:12 am
Owls are such strange creatures. I love seeing them, but I’m sure my squirrels have a different view of them.
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April 6, 2024 at 1:15 pm
Good point!
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April 5, 2024 at 8:32 am
I hope it wasn’t one of your squirrels. Interesting post, Anneli! Forensic investigator might be a new career path for you. Ha ha ha. — Sonja
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April 5, 2024 at 10:27 am
I thought of that for one horrifying moment, but the fur isn’t right. Just that one little patch of brownish fur gave me a start. Also I think the bones would have been bigger. I’ll keep that new career path in mind.
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April 5, 2024 at 5:13 pm
Kids love this exploration. I worked with a teacher who let the students examine the pellets, and they were so excited. I am a bit squeamish, but I had to hide my feelings, lol. I was glad I participated. It was fascinating. After all, it is nature, and I love owls.
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April 5, 2024 at 5:25 pm
Good for you, Biene, for getting over your squeamishness!
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April 6, 2024 at 12:03 am
It was very interesting to read about the owels. How they eat and how they digest. You did a professional job finding out what is in the pellet you found. Thanks for sharing!
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April 6, 2024 at 10:50 am
Thanks for your comment, Ursula. I didn’t really know wat I was doing, but I got it all apart and I found some interesting things. I couldn’t help thinking about how it must have felt eating those sharp bones.
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April 7, 2024 at 1:26 pm
Oh that’s interesting – I did not know that about owls. A little gross, but nature is pretty amazing in how it operates.
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April 7, 2024 at 2:04 pm
I agree that it’s a bit “indelicate,” but it is fascinating just the same.
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April 8, 2024 at 10:19 am
It is a bit gruesome, but also fascinating. I once reassembled a complete chicken skeleton and was completely caught up in the science of it all. I like learning about our world. Thanks for teaching!
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April 8, 2024 at 10:41 am
It sure gives you a better understanding of how animals are put together when you reassemble the bones. That chicken project was an excellent way to learn it.
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April 8, 2024 at 11:34 am
It was. I’m a little surprised that I did it.
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April 8, 2024 at 12:04 pm
But good for you!
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April 15, 2024 at 6:16 am
OK, so don’t read this post at breakfast. The workings of birds and animals are all so fascinating. Happy Monday Anneli. Allan
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April 15, 2024 at 9:15 am
Yeah, I suppose it’s a bit gruesome if you overthink it. Sorry!
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