Questions:

1. What is an owl pellet?

undigested parts of a bird's food

2. False (circle one): Owls chew their food.

3. List at least 5 species that make pellets other than owls.

bird species such as hawks, falcons, eagles, herons, cormorants, and grebes

4. What can dissecting an owl pellet tell you about ecology and anatomy?

best method to understand their food habits, range of prey, and habitat

5. Why are barn owl pellets a good choice for dissection?

By traveling back up the gullet after being regurgitated, the pellets scrub the digestive tract of a healthy bird,
killing off any harmful bacteria or parasites that may have been present.

6. What are 2 common prey species of the barn owl?

rat and mouse

7. Why are barn owl pellets less than ideal to dissect?

Due to the presence of rodents like rats, mice, and voles in a barn owl's diet, the pellets produced by these
birds are not the best for forensic analysis. These prey animals are sources of infections (ex. Salmonella) in
which can affect other rodents and also humans.

8. Give two “Fun Facts” about owls (these facts are scrolling above the dissection page)!

Why dissect an owl pellet?

A fascinating introduction to ecology and anatomy, owl pellet dissection reveals the food webs, trophic levels,
and skeletal structures of the animals that make up an owl's diet.

Do all birds make pellets?

All birds of prey, such as hawks and eagles, use pellets because they can easily digest them and swallow them
whole. Some people call them casts. Other species that produce pellets include grebes, herons, cormorants,
gulls, terns, kingfishers, crows, jays, swallows, and most shorebirds.
 9. Insert a screenshot or snip of your accomplishment badge in the space below.

10. What living species (plants and animals) might be affected if a disease drastically reduced the owl
population of the country?

Because of the crucial role they play in preserving a healthy food web, owls are valuable contributors to our
ecosystem and the ecosystems in which they make their homes. Although owls play a crucial role in
maintaining a healthy ecosystem by controlling the population of the rodents they prey on, their numbers
have been declining, which could cause chaos and an increase in the rodent population.

11. In the space below, diagram a food web (not a food chain) including at least 3 producers (plants/algae),
4 primary consumers (animals that eat plants), 2 secondary consumers (carnivores) and 1 top predator
(carnivore). Include an owl and two different prey species in the web and label them appropriately.
Provide both the name of the species and a picture for each species in your web. Remember,
producers are at the bottom and top predators are at the top. Additionally, arrows always point from
the organism being eaten to the organism that is eating it.