Owl Pellet Labs (science)

As of now, from all the fun activities we've done, my favorite was the Owl Pellet Lab. I immensely enjoyed the part where we got to put all the bones of the skeleton together. This not only allowed disect an owl pellet, but learn about the skeletal structure of another animal's body. However the idea at first to disect an owl's regurgitated food did not excite me too much. Of course afterwards I found it was fun to constantly discover bones out of a pellet, then learn what it was, and where it belonged. Our group in particular had found a rodent in our owl pellet. Through this complete activity I have absorbed so much more information on owl's, which I had never known of, and a rodents skeletal system. Over all this Owl Pellet lab was a great fun and educational class activity and I look forward to doing more throughout this year.
After doing this lab I have learned countless things on owls as I have stated before. For instance, owl's, unlike human's, are not capable of chewing their food, therefore making the swallow their food whole, while large prey is torn into pieces. Owl's also don't have a loose sac in their throat for storing food for later consumption called a crop, so their food just passes straight into their digestive system. The food is first directly sent to the proventriculus or the glandular stomach, this produces enzymes, acids, and mucus to begin the process of the owl's digestion. Afterwards the food is then passed onto the ventriculus or the gizzard, which holds back any food such as: hair, fur, teeth, feathers, bones, etc. allowing only nutrients and soluble things through. The food that had passed through then continues on through the digestive system. However the insoluble food several hours later, is compressed into a small ball, and is passed up from the gizzard and back in the proventriculus which can then stay there for up to 10 hours before being regurgitated. New food cannot be swallowed till the previous food is regurgitated. After learning so much about owls I did a little research and found a couple further interesting facts on owls. In order for owls to look around they are capable of entirely turning their head in a range of movement of 270 degrees! Owls in general also have to ways of hunting their prey, one is perching and pouncing. This method is often used by owls residing in dense forest areas, it is when an owl waits for prey on a low tree branch, then swoops down to catch it. Quartering is another method often used by owls living in clear landscapes, it is when an owl flies low to the ground looking for prey. In conclusion owls are great birds with great skills and a very distinct plus unique way of digesting and getting rid of unwanted food. Owls are amazing birds which we can learn so much from by just disecting their owl pellets and observing their actions.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/birds/info/Owl.shtml