The Study of Owls

An Owl’s Food Chain

Do you know how an owl eats? Like all birds, owls have no teeth to chew their food. Their food is usually swallowed whole, or in large chunks. In the stomach, the indigestible bones, fur and insect exoskeletons are formed into oval-shaped masses, called pellets. The owl regurgitates these compact pellets which contain fur, bones, etc. of small rodents.

What birds cough up pellets? What are pellets? These pellets are the end products of the bird’s digestive process. Pellets are also made by other raptors (birds of prey).

What is inside the pellet? The students are examining owl pellets to discover what the owl digested. They are viewing the bone structure of the prey to classify and identify the food.

Exploring Inside the Pellet

Owls are carnivores! They catch small animals like mice and voles but most of them will eat other animals such as birds, worms, and insects.

Hannah said, “I think this owl ate a song bird Hannah said, “I think this owl ate a song bird.” Olivia replied, “I think it ate a mole!”

“We wonder what it ate?”