A curious pellet from a great horned owl (Bubo virginianus)
Northeastern Naturalist
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Abstract
One of the traditional methods of determining the dietary preferences of owls relies upon the identification of bony remains of prey contained in regurgitated pellets. Discovery of a pellet containing a large, complete primary feather from an adult, male Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) prompted us to examine in detail a small sample of pellets from a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus). Our analyses of feather and hair remains in these pellets documented the presence of three species of birds and two species of mammals, whereas bones in the pellets represented only mammals. This finding indicates an important bias that challenges the reliability of owl pellet studies making use of only osteological remains.
Suggested Citation
Woodman, N., Dove, C., and Peurach, S., 2005, A curious pellet from a great horned owl (Bubo virginianus): Northeastern Naturalist, v. 12, no. 2, p. 127-132.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | A curious pellet from a great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) |
| Series title | Northeastern Naturalist |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 2005 |
| Language | English |
| Contributing office(s) | Patuxent Wildlife Research Center |
| Description | 127-132 |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Northeastern Naturalist |
| First page | 127 |
| Last page | 132 |