BARN OWLS

Where Do Barn Owls Live? Barns or Silos Hay Stacks Palm Trees Abandoned Buildings Rock Walls Holes in Cliffs

Today’s Objectives TSW: construct a three- dimensional skeleton using the bones collected from the owl pellet TSW compare the anatomy of small mammals to that of larger mammals

Barn Owls are Predators A predator is an animal that catches another animal for food. Some predators include: Hawks Eagles Owls Snakes Lions Alligators

What are Prey? The prey are animals that get eaten by predators! Some prey might include: Small insects Rats Rabbits Skunks Birds

How Does the Barn Owl Fit into the Food Chain? All living things depend on each other to live. The food chain shows how some animals eat other animals to gain energy for survival. Grasshopper eats grass. Field mouse eats grasshopper. Barn owl eats field mouse.

Barn Owls are Raptors Raptors are birds that catch their prey with the long claws on their feet. These claws are called “talons”. Raptors also have: - Hooked beaks - Excellent eyesight - Strong legs and feet Hawks, eagles, and owls are raptors. talons sharp beak

How do Barn Owls Hunt? Barn owls are predators, which means they must kill other animals to survive. They use their amazing eyesight to hunt at night. But . . . on nights when it is too dark to see very far, they can find prey by listening. Owls ears are so precise, they can catch a mouse in total darkness, just by hearing its footsteps in the grass!

More on Hunting The barn owl’s wings are made of downy feathers, which muffle the sound as they approach their victim. They fly low and capture their prey with their feet. They rip through the back of the skull with their bill. They prey is swallowed whole.

What do Barn Owls Eat? shrew vole Mice Shrews Voles (meadow mice) Field rats Insects Small rabbits Other small animals (chickens, maybe?) shrew vole

What is an Owl Pellet? Owls swallow their prey whole in one big gulp. Since they can’t digest bones and fur, they cough up these parts of the meal into a compact mass called an owl pellet. The pellets are approximately two inches long and brownish in color.                         

How to Dissect an Owl Pellet STEP #1: Tear open your owl pellet very gently. Be careful not to break any whole bones! You can use forceps and a probe or . . . You may pull the owl pellet apart with your fingers.

Dissecting an Owl Pellet STEP #2: Separate all the bones from the fur with forceps. When you think you have all the bones out, rub the fur between your fingers. If you feel anything hard, it’s a bone. You need all of them!

Dissecting an Owl Pellet STEP #3: Discard the fur. Take a clean sheet of paper and fold it into six sections.

Identifying your Bones Using a diagram of various skeletons, try to identify the bones. It will be helpful to identify the skull and jaw bones first.

You are now . . . an Owl Expert!