Cough it Up
Posted by ann stemler on February 19, 2006
Q: have red tailed hawks been observed to expel pellets? I did not see that species on your list but think I observed that today.
Thanks
Habitat: field/meadow
State: California
Habitat: field/meadow
A: You are quite right - I didn't include the raptors with my list of birds that expel pellets. Yes, the hawks do indeed produce pellets too. A Red-tailed Hawk can easily swallow an entire mouse so all of its hair and bones then make a nice pellet to be regurgitated. A rabbit, also a likely prey item for a Red-tail, would not be swallowed completely but would be torn apart and eaten so there would be fewer bones to be expelled (it wouldn't swallow the larger bones) but certainly a lot of fur. Nice that you got to see this behavior; many people have never seen it in the wild. Thanks for asking and thanks for your nice comment.
John Wiessinger ( February 20, 2006)