Features

• An owl pellet is a highly compacted mass the indigestible parts of the owl's prey. They are typically between 1 and 3 inches in length, and they might include fur, bones, teeth, feathers and exoskeletons from the owl's last meal.
  
  

Significance

• Owl pellets are produced because owls lack a crop and cannot chew their food. Instead, they swallow their food whole and the indigestible parts of the owl's prey are caught in the gizzard, while the softer, digestible parts are ground down and passed through the rest of the digestive system. The owl pellets are are a method for the owl to get rid of the parts of its prey that cannot be digested.
  
  

Time Frame

• Several hours after the prey was swallowed whole, the indigestible parts of the animal are compacted into a pellet. The pellet will travel through the bird's stomach, and about 10 hours after that, the owl regurgitates the pellet.
  
  

Considerations

• One reason why owl pellets are such handy tools for discerning the owl's diet is that they contain a great deal of food residue. Unlike other birds of prey, their digestive juices are less acidic, which allows more of the food residue to remain intact. Owls also do not pluck their prey the way other birds will, allowing for more of the prey animal to enter their digestive system.
  
  

Identification

• There are several signs that indicate that an owl is getting ready to regurgitate a pellet. The owl will close its eyes and its facial disc will narrow. The owl becomes reluctant to fly. Then the neck stretches up and forward as the owl's beak opens and the pellet drops out. Owls tend to have a favorite roost where they will regurgitate their pellets, and finding pellets can help you find out where an owl is roosting.