Okay, children, today we are going to dissect this owl pellet and find out what the owl last ‘dined’ upon. Everybody ready?
Hmmmm…fur, fur, bones, bones. Make that teeny-tiny little bones!
More fur, more little bones….
John is very fascinated (or is that disgusted) with the whole activity!
More fur, more bones, and a teeny little skull, mandible, and obvious little rodent teeth! According to our chart, the owl had eaten a…..MOUSE! I know from the photo, the skull might resemble that of a bird. But if the thing was turned around, you would be able to see that the ‘pointy’ place is not a beak, but two long teeth. Plus, you can tell from the mandible that there are rows of tiny little teeth there as well. And of course, the fur is sort of a give away.
If YOU haven’t dissected an owl pellet, what are you waiting for? It was VERY interesting! We read several books about owls and also read an entry from the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. All in all a most delightful ‘extra’ science activity.
So there you have it…a snippet of science!
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