News from the Mews: Pellet Quiz Cable Natural History Museum Question Title * 1. Who cast this pellet? Red-tailed Hawk Great Horned Owl American Kestrel Other OK Question Title * 2. You might have noticed the smooth lines and only fur visible on the first pellet, pointing us to a hawk with strong stomach acid!How about this one? Red-tailed Hawk Great Horned Owl American Kestrel Other OK Question Title * 3. Did you notice all of the bones on the surface of the pellet? With weak stomach acid, owls can't break down the bone. These are some of the bones I found in just half of that pellet:Let's try another one: Red-tailed Hawk Great Horned Owl American Kestrel Other OK Question Title * 4. That one might have been tricky. No bones were visible, ruling out any owl. It could be a hawk pellet, but check out that size. When I held it in my hand, it filled my whole palm! That pellet came from a wild Bald Eagle that probably snacked on a gray squirrel.Who cast this pellet? Red-tailed Hawk Great Horned Owl American Kestrel Other OK Question Title * 5. The bones in that pellet were very noticeable: the work of an owl! Normally fur or feathers are packed around the bones to prevent sharp edges from scraping the esophagus as the pellet comes back up. But that owl's meal did not have enough "packing material," so the long bones were left sticking out.We'll end with one more pellet: Red-tailed Hawk Great Horned Owl American Kestrel Other OK Question Title * 6. If you guessed Red-tailed Hawk, you might have been right. That pellet did not contain any bones, and even a big bird can cast a small pellet after a small meal. But that one was, in fact, cast by our smallest bird, Aldo the American Kestrel.I think pellets can be quite beautiful, don't you? Yes No OK DONE