Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A pellet, in ornithology, is the mass of undigested parts of a bird's food that some bird species occasionally regurgitate. The contents of a bird's pellet depend on its diet, but can include the exoskeletons of insects, indigestible plant matter, bones, fur, feathers, bills, claws, and teeth. In falconry, the pellet is called a casting.
In some cases, pellets of Bubo owls can range up to 150 mm (5.9 in) in length. [3] [9] Eagle-owl pellets average slightly larger (about 10%) than those of great grey owls (Strix nebulosa). [10] As is the case with all owls, pellets are indisputably the best method to examine the main diversity of prey consumed by an owl.
The pellets are typically grey coloured and are found in groups under trees used for roosting or nesting. At least some tawny owl pellets can measure up to 84 mm (3.3 in) long and can include large objects such as an intact 10 cm (3.9 in) bill of a snipe. [7] [1] [29] [32] Undigested material coughed up often reveals different prey than pellets ...
Print/export Download as PDF; ... Vole bones are often found in the pellets of the short-eared owl, [5] the northern spotted owl, [6] ...
Scientists studying the diets of owls are helped by their habit of regurgitating the indigestible parts of their prey (such as bones, scales, and fur) in the form of pellets. These "owl pellets" are plentiful and easy to interpret, and are often sold by companies to schools for dissection by students as a lesson in biology and ecology. [37]
The tawny owl (Strix aluco), also called the brown owl, is a stocky, medium-sized owl in the family Strigidae. It is commonly found in woodlands across Europe, as well as western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. The tawny owl's underparts are pale with dark streaks, whilst its upper body may be either brown or grey (in several ...
The New Providence site contained only two partial skeletons, but also copious amounts of owl pellets. These show that T. pollens had a diet which was largely based on the large rodent Geocapromys ingrahami , which at present only survives on a single small arid island, but which appears to have once been the only land mammal of the Bahamas and ...
Blakiston's fish owl (Ketupa blakistoni), the largest living species of owl, is a fish owl, a sub-group of eagle-owls that specialize in hunting in riparian areas. [3] It is native to China, Japan, and the Russian Far East .