Regurgitate

We have an American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)that perches on our back fence to regurgitate its pellets. These are the indigestible portions of its meal, bones, hair, chitin. These parts are held in the crop, an area in the throat that contains coarse material, like sand or small pebbles, to help the bird break up its meal, sort of like teeth. When the material forms a large enough mass (a bolus), the bird coughs it out. Raptors do this, the most famous pellets are those of owls, frequently used in schools and other education programs. In owl pellets you'll find hair, larger bones, even skulls.

This particular kestrel is eating a lot of mice intermixed with insects, a typical diet. The brown bits are chitin, pieces of insect exoskeleton. The rest is mouse hair. Poor Mickey. I haven't seen the bird perched back there yet, but there are at least a week's worth (or slightly more) of pellets on the fence and on the ground. I'll keep my eye out and see if I can get a photo.

A nice find in an area rapidly being suburbanized.