Owls and owl pellets guide

WildID Owls and owl pellets guide is both a field guide to adult owls and a guide to investigating owl pellets.

• Identification guide to all 5 wild owls of Britain and Ireland
• Colour paintings show owls both perched and in flight
• Also includes illustrations of small mammal bones typically found in owl pellets
• Practical for use outdoors: lightweight, rucksack-sized, splash-proof

Owls are birds of prey that hunt small mammals, birds, frogs, worms, and insects. They usually swallow their prey whole and later cough up the indigestible parts as pellets. By examining these pellets, we can find out what the owl has been eating. Britain and Ireland have five resident owl species. The snowy owl visits occasionally but hasn’t bred here in recent years. All owls belong to the order Strigiformes, which includes two families: Tytonidae (barn owls) and Strigidae (true owls).

Owls are not the only birds that produce pellets. This guide includes illustrations and descriptions of owl pellets and shows how to tell them apart from pellets made by other birds like kestrels, sparrowhawks, gulls, and crows. It also has an identification key to help recognize bones and skulls inside pellets.

On the reverse side, there’s information about owl taxonomy, hunting adaptations, food chains, and conservation. A summary table lists useful details for each species, such as size, call, habitat, prey, and breeding range. The authors also explain where to find pellets and how to prepare and study them.

Field Studies Council worked with with the Hawk and Owl Trust to produce the Owls guide.