What happens to the bones when owls eat mice?

Owls Cough up Poop?

When we eat chicken, we don’t eat the feathers or the bones; we just eat the meat! When we eat that meat, our bodies break down the food and our guts remove out the useful nutrients. This is called digestion. The stuff we can’t digest ends up as poop.  However, when an owl eats a mouse, it eats the entire thing! Skin, fur and bones!  Did you know that after owls swallow their food, anything that cannot be digested will be smushed into a ball called a pellet? These pellets are not pooped out but instead are “regurgitated” or coughed up! You can find many cool and yucky things in pellets, such as bones, fur, feathers, teeth, and skulls. Watch the video down below to see how owls can do this!

An Owl’s Amazing Digestive Tract

Solve the maze to see the path of the owl’s food! Trace along as the food moves into the mouth, down the esophagus, and into the stomach. The top part of the stomach, the proventriculus, helps to break down the food into smaller pieces. The bottom part, the gizzard, grinds the food until all the undigestible stuff (bones and hair) forms a pellet. Follow the maze and trace as the pellet moves up and out of the mouth. After you are done tracing, color in the rest of the owl.

OwlRegurgMaze

Compare your owl to your own anatomy!

Whose Pellet is this?

As we continue our journey exploring an owl’s pellet, take a close look at the pellet is dissected in this video.  This pellet was from a “play-doo” barn owl that consumed various small mammals and birds. Can you describe what was in this pellet? What are those white objects?

Dissecting a pellet

Steps for a real pellet dissection

• Step 1: Gather your supplies (tweezers, pellet wrapped in aluminum foil, paper tray).
• Step 2: Begin to pick at pellet.
• Step 3: Set aside findings.
• Step 4: Use owl pellet bone chart to determine what specimens you found.

Virtual pellet dissection

Since you have learned how the pellet goes through the owl’s digestive tract and how to find what is inside them, it is your turn to try! Click on the link below to dig through an owl pellet!

https://sherlockbonesmystery.com/

Here is a guide on how to play the game:

1. First, pick the owl and the prey you want to use

1. Then click the play button to start the game.
2. When you click play, you will see a pellet.  To find the bones, click on the pellet to remove any of the fur and other stuff we don’t need.

3. Once the bones have been uncovered, you will put them back together! To do this, click and hold on a pair of bones, and then it will highlight where you should put them.

Happy pelleting digging!