Great horned owls are one of the most common owls found across North America. As apex predators, their diet consists mainly of small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. Like all animal species, great horned owls produce waste in the form of droppings or owl pellets. Understanding what great horned owl droppings look like, what they contain and how they help identify great horned owl habitats can provide useful information for nature enthusiasts, birders and wildlife researchers.
What do great horned owl droppings look like?
Great horned owl droppings can vary slightly in size, color and texture depending on the individual owl’s diet. In general, great horned owl scat will have these characteristics:
- Size: 2-3 inches long and 1⁄2 inch in diameter
- Color: Brown, black or dark greenish
- Texture: Firm and toothpaste-like consistency
- Odor: Musky smell, like mammal urine
- Contents: Bones, fur, feathers, insect parts
Fresh great horned owl droppings will smell stronger and appear wetter. After exposure to rain, sun and other environmental factors, the scat will dry out and lighten in color. Remains of bones and arthropod parts may be more visible in older samples. The droppings are often found in clusters if owls are roosting or nesting in an area.
What do great horned owl pellets contain?
In addition to classic droppings, great horned owls also regurgitate pellets. These are tight bundles of undigested bones, fur, feathers and other materials that the owl’s stomach could not break down. Pellets form after the owl digests its prey, compressing the indigestible parts into a neat package that the bird then expels through its mouth.
Great horned owl pellets tend to be oval or elongated in shape and 2-3 inches long. They are covered with a layer of shiny, olive-green mucus from the owl’s digestive system. Once dried out, great horned owl pellets become gray or brown. Slitting open a pellet reveals a very different contents compared to normal scat:
- Bones: Skulls, spines, rib cages and other skeletal remains
- Teeth: Small intact teeth or broken fragments
- Fur: Dense clumps of fur from prey animals
- Feathers: Down feathers, quills and plumes
- Insects: Beetle parts like wings, legs and antennae
- Seeds/Vegetation: Occasionally remains of undigested plant matter
Researchers can examine the types of bones and teeth to identify exactly which animals the owl consumed. This provides insight into the great horned owl’s diet and their habitat.
Why do great horned owls produce pellets?
Owls lack some parts of the digestive system that other birds rely on to process and pass food and waste. Owls miss out on:
- A muscular gizzard for grinding up food
- Enzymes for digesting certain molecules like keratin in hair and feathers
- A wide range of beneficial gut microbes to break down material
To compensate, owl stomachs produce more powerful acids and get rid of hard-to-digest items in pellets. This prevents sharp bones, claws, teeth and other objects from lining the gut and causing damage. It also allows the owl to process as many nutrients as possible from their prey. Whatever remains gets neatly packaged into a pellet.
Where to find great horned owl pellets and scat
Locating great horned owl droppings and pellets gives excellent clues about their habitat and territory. The best places to find signs of great horned owls include:
Under nests and roosts:
Great horned owls nest in tree cavities, cliff ledges and abandoned raptor nests. They also commonly roost in large trees. Anywhere owls spend significant time will accumulate poop and pellets underneath. Check the base of nesting trees and underneath overhanging limbs or ledges.
At plucking posts:
Plucking posts are spots where owls bring prey to tear into pieces and eat. These are often low stumps, posts or debris piles near the nest. Look for accumulations of fur, feathers and bones around these areas.
Under perches:
Great horned owls will perch on bare branches, poles and snags while hunting or resting. Scattered white wash from droppings often collects below.
Around owl cages at raptor rehab centers:
Facilities that house injured, orphaned or educational owls are a convenient place to collect a variety of intact pellets. Just be sure to get permission first.
When searching for pellets, look closely. The greenish color provides good camouflage in the environment. Older white-washed pellets can blend in among rocks and pale debris.
How to distinguish great horned owl droppings from other owls
Several owl species overlap in range with great horned owls. Smaller owl poop tends be easily distinguished. But some larger relatives like barred owls leave similar droppings and pellets. Ways to identify great horned owl scat include:
Size:
Great horned owl pellets and poop are significantly larger than eastern screech or saw-whet owls. Only barred owl scat reaches similar dimensions.
Contents:
Prey remains like rabbit and other mammal fur and bones point to great horned owls. The larger the bones and skulls, the more likely great horned owls made the pellet.
Habitat:
Finding pellets in open woodlands and grasslands associates them with great horned owls. Dense mature forests indicate barred owls.
Location:
Great horned owls frequently use man-made platforms and urban areas. Droppings in human-altered habitat suggest great horned owls.
Are great horned owl droppings dangerous?
Fresh great horned owl poop may contain bacteria and parasites much like any animal feces. However, the risk of disease transmission is low. Some tips for safe handling:
- Avoid touching scat with bare hands. Use gloves or tools.
- Clean hands thoroughly with soap and water afterwards.
- Don’t stir up dry owl droppings – respiratory particles are the greatest hazard.
- Take care when climbing to investigate nests and roosts.
Properly disposing of owl scat avoids attracting flies that can spread germs:
- For single droppings, use a plastic bag over your hand to remove it.
- For heavy soiling under roosts, lightly spray with diluted bleach before removing.
- Seal waste in plastic bags and dispose in trash receptacles.
- Clean any tools or gloves thoroughly with disinfectant.
With reasonable precautions, examining great horned owl pellets and droppings poses little health risk. The benefits of learning about these avian predators outweigh any minor hazards involved.
Fun facts about great horned owl droppings and waste
Beyond clues about diet and habitats, owl scat has some surprising tidbits:
- Owls poop less frequently than many birds because their food passes slowly through the digestive tract to allow thorough nutrient extraction.
- Great horned owl pellets are sometimes mistaken for scat due to the mucus coating. Proper pellets are more oval in shape.
- A single great horned owl may produce 10-20 pellets per day.
- Owl chicks in nests generate large amounts of waste. All those pellets and poop build up into a messy but cozy nest liner!
- Some Native American tribes believed finding an owl pellet was good luck.
- Ancient Romans examined owl pellets and droppings for fortune telling.
- Owl droppings are white because their urine and feces mix in the proctodeum chamber before being expelled.
- Fossilized great horned owl pellets have been found preserved in cave deposits.
- Pairs of owls may synchronize pellet casting as bonding behavior.
Far from being just bird poop, great horned owl droppings provide ecologists with valuable dietary data. These unassuming excrements also have surprising links to human culture and history. Next time you find one, remember you’re handling a product of natural evolutionary processes and a window into the secret lives of owls.
Conclusion
Great horned owl scat, white wash and pellets offer a useful look into the diet and habitat of these powerful raptors. By studying their droppings, researchers can identify prey remains, roosting areas and territorial reach in owl populations. Distinguishing large great horned owl poop from similar species gives more accurate insights. Responsible collecting, handling and disposal also ensures the process poses little health hazard. Far from being just owl waste, these remnants provide ecologists and nature enthusiasts with a valuable resource for tracking and understanding one of North America’s most iconic avian predators. The next time you come across some owl droppings, look closer – they’re full of surprising information about the great horned owl’s nightly adventures.