Breana Vazquez

8th period
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE LAB?
The purpose of the lab is to learn about barn owl pellets, types of pyramids, the food web,
and being a good observer. Once an owl digests 2-3 animals the barn owl barfs an owl pellet out.
A pellet contains a lot of fur and bones. By examining the pellet I learned that other animal bones
are similar to the human bone structure. There are three different types of pyramid: Energy,
Number, and Biomass pyramid. Energy pyramid indicates the amount of energy in each trophic
level. Number pyramid is based on the number of animals eaten per year. Biomass pyramid
displays the total mass of organisms in each trophic level. The food web shows the energy flow
between each of the different components.
Barn owls have a flat they have a heart shaped face with a small beak and large eyes.
Barn owls have a short tail and their wings are rounded. Their feet are large with sharp talons and
have long legs. An owls wing span about 4 feet and its length is about 14-20 inches. Its golden
brown and white on its chest and belly, it also has dark specks on its upper and under side. A barn
owl doest hoot like other owls instead it makes a hissing or shrieking sound. Barn Owls are
either alone or found in pairs. They are nocturnal; during the days they stay in man-made
structures, lives in trees and make seasonal movements between breeding and winter. Barn owls
have a great sense of hearing and. Owls rely on their super sense of hearing to survive, because
they use it to find prey. Barn owls can be found anywhere except deserts or Polar Regions. Other
than that, the barn owl habitat is across every region of the world. You may find feathers, fur,
bones, insects, and seeds it just depends on what the barn owl eats. The importance of habitat
restoration is it repairs areas that have been destroyed.
Materials:
Owl pellet
Owl pellet bone chart
Rodent skeleton diagram
Ruler
Construction paper
Tray
Toothpicks
Procedure:
1. Carefully inspect the outside of the pellet and observe its size, the materials that make
it up, and any additional features. Record.
2. Gently pull apart the pellet, being careful not to break any of the bones inside it. Use
fingers to separate the bones from the fur or feathers. Take special care when
removing the skulls and jaw bones, since they are the best way to identify the animals
that the owl ate.

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Breana Vazquez
8th period
3. Group similar bones together. When youve finished sorting the bones, roll the last
bits of fur between your fingers to find little bones or teeth that might have been over
looked.
4. Use the owl bone chart to classify the bones. The jawbones and the location of teeth
will be most useful for this task. One animal that is not found on the chart is the vole.
The animal has a jawbone with similar teeth placement as the rat, but the jaw is
smaller. a) Record the number of each type of bone found on data table. b) Record
the types of skulls found
5. Choose the skeletons remains of one animal (the one with the greatest number of
bones) and piece it together. Glue as seen on rodent skeleton diagram. Label bones.
Data:

The pellets texture is hard

The color is black, brown, greenish
Various types of material sticking out of the pellet
Length is about 6.4cm

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Breana Vazquez
8th period

Circumference is 10.1cm

Analysis/Conclusion:
In conclusion we used a big piece of paper as a tray which we examined the pellet on. I used the
owl bone chart to categorize the bones. The ruler was to measure the length and circumference.
The charts and diagrams where used as a guide to classify or identify the bones. We placed the
bones on construction paper and labeled each individual bone. In order to dissect the pellet we
used utensils; probe, and forceps. The data was collected by observing it and recording our
observations; I measured the pellets length and circumference, identified the color, what the
pellet looks like, and the texture. We began by carefully inspecting the outside of the pellet and
observe its size, the materials that make it up. Then gently pull apart the pellet, and trying to be
careful not to break any of the bones inside it. We separated the fur and the bones also we
inspected the fur again to make sure there werent any small bones that were overlooked. We
grouped the bones based on if they were similar or not. Then we used the owl bone chart to
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Breana Vazquez
8th period
classify the bones. Recorded the number of each type of bone found on the data table and record
the types of skulls found in the pellet. Afterwards we used the bones to reconstruct the rats
structure and ladled each bone afterwards.
Work Cited:

http://www.britannica.com/animal/owl
http://www.bocn.org/factfile_detail.asp?id=39
http://www.liveanimalslist.com/birds/barn-owl.php
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3400500181.html

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