Taxidermy

• Taxidermists reconstructing the skeletons of rodents, mice or birds use owl pellets to extract and use the bones and other parts of those animals.
  
  

Stuyding an Owl's Diet

• The composition of an owl's pellets indicates what kind of food different types of owls consume. These generally include mice, rodents, rabbits, squirrels, gophers, voles, doves, grouse and pigeons. Some owl species have specialized diets that include insects and fish.
  
  

Styding Owl Physiology

• Owls expel pellets about 20 hours after eating. By dissecting and examining the contents of owl pellets, we can discover what materials owls cannot digest, and learn more about their digestive enzymes and the workings of their intestines.
  
  

Studying Small Mammals and Birds

• Owl pellets contain the bones and skulls of an animal the bird consumed, giving scientists an easy way to access information on the skeletal structures of different animals. By carefully pulling apart the pellets, scientists can find bones that likely are unbroken.
  
  

Dissection in the Classroom

• Some companies collect and distribute owl pellets for classroom use. They sell the pellets sanitized and packaged. Students use tweezers or probes to dissect the pellets and record how many different species of prey they discover. Owl pellet dissection may take place in a biology or environmental science high school classroom.