Happy New Year 1-4  Today: Start “mini-unit” on owls Mid term after owl test

Mini-before-Christmas Unit

General Info  Owl’s fill the niche at night which would be occupied by hawks in daytime Niche – role organism plays in the environment  Don’t build nests – use old crow or hawk nests  Diet – mice, rats, birds, insects, etc  Spend day in covered areas

General Info  Over 200 species of owls 8 can be found in PA

Hatching  Eggs are not laid at the same time and thus do not hatch at same time  Why could this be a useful adaptation? If enough food, all chicks survive If not enough food, ensures oldest will be strong and survive (youngest chicks die)  Owl Chicks

Eyesight  Very large eyes  Sight x better at locating small objects in low light than humans  So, in their eyes they must have more… Rods – cells that gather light in the eye Cones – cells that gather color  Eye’s fixed in skull – can’t move them  Twist head to look around…some up to 270 degrees

Warm Up 1-5  What is a niche?  Today: Talons, Leading edge of wings, etc

Males vs. Females  Female birds of prey tend to be larger than the males  (same is true for many reptiles)

Talons  Have large sharp talons – used to kill prey  Two talons will face backwards and 2 forwards to grab prey

Wings  Leading edge of the wing are serrated to help muffle the sound of flight.  (Start about 3:30) 

Hearing  Face is shaped like a disc to funnel sound  Many species of owls have asymmetrical ears Allows them to locate prey more efficiently, even if they can’t see it  gq1TAk gq1TAk

Warm Up 1-6  How do asymmetrical ears help an owl locate prey?  Today: Owl puke Finish movie

Hunting  Mostly sit and wait predator  Wait on tree until prey is located

Warm Up 1-7  Why do we study owl pellets?  Today: Owl Pellet Lab Quiz on Owl information tomorrow – Review sheet due

Owl Puke  Owl’s regurgitate prey remains – called a pellet (or a bolus) Swallow prey whole – they cannot digest hair, fur, nails, etc  These can be studied to determine the owls diet  Owl Puking (1:05)   US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv# US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#  Owl Pellet 

Quiz! 1-11  Quiz  Review sheets due

Owl Pellet Lab  Work in teams of 2-3  Need 2 pieces of paper One to break apart the pellet One to place the bones  Your goal is to determine the identity of the organisms in the owl pellet using the bone key in the packet  The data table and lab questions should also be completed

Owl Prey  Voles Resemble mouse – shorter hairy tail Stouter body  Moles (not owl prey) Spend most of life underground Very underdeveloped eyes

 – hissing chick  - owl general info – wing serrations   – prey under snow  8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox- a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv# - owl pellet – breaking it apart 8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox- a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#  - owl puking  – owl eating mouse