Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: P1260335 FZ40

Horribly blurry, but thought I'd post it anyway, as not everyone gets the chance to witness a tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl coughing up an enormous pellet! Not sure if the owl's movement caused the blurriness - or maybe it was because I was so excited that this was happening, that I didn't keep the camera steady : ) Photographed at Carburn Park on January 26th. Size: Length 17 to 21.9cm (6.7-8.6") Wingspan 45.9 to 56.3cm (18.1-22.2"). Weight 75-110g (2.6-3.9oz) - Females are slightly larger than males. "A pellet, in ornithology, is the mass of undigested parts of a bird's food that some bird species occasionally regurgitate. The contents of a bird's pellet depend on its diet, but can include the exoskeletons of insects, indigestible plant matter, bones, fur, feathers, bills, claws, and teeth. In falconry, the pellet is called a casting. The passing of pellets allows a bird to remove indigestible material from its proventriculus, or glandular stomach. In birds of prey, the regurgitation of pellets serves the bird's health in another way, by "scouring" parts of the digestive tract, including the gullet. Pellets are formed within six to ten hours of a meal in the bird's gizzard (muscular stomach)." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellet_ (ornithology)