Digestive System of Great Horned Owl
1. Owl's smaller prey is swallowed whole, larger prey is torn into smaller pieces and swallowed. They cannot chew their food.
2. Most birds a have a crop. This is not true of owls, though. A crop is a storage sac to keep food to digest later. Because they have no crop, food is passed directly into the digestive tract.
3. The food is passed into the first part of the stomach, the proventriculus. The proventriculus creates enzymes and acids to start breaking down the food.
4. The second part of the stomach is the gizzard. The gizzard separate the indigestible parts, such as feathers and bones.
5. The rest of the food is passed through the small intestine, which is covered with enzymes from the liver and pancreas. The small intestine then absorbs nutrients from the food.
6. The food is then brought to the cloaca, which is a temporary storage for wastes from the urinary and digestive systems. Most birds, including owls, do not have a bladder.
7. The waste is excreted through the vent.
8. After eating, the wastes that are still in the gizzard (feathers, bones, teeth, fur) are compressed into a pellet.
9. This pellet is sent up to the proventriculus, where it can stay for up to ten hours before being thrown up.
10. Throwing up the pellet means that it is time for the owl to eat again. It cannot eat while the pellet is still in the proventriculus, because it is blocking food from passing through.
http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=owl+physiology&title=digestion
2. Most birds a have a crop. This is not true of owls, though. A crop is a storage sac to keep food to digest later. Because they have no crop, food is passed directly into the digestive tract.
3. The food is passed into the first part of the stomach, the proventriculus. The proventriculus creates enzymes and acids to start breaking down the food.
4. The second part of the stomach is the gizzard. The gizzard separate the indigestible parts, such as feathers and bones.
5. The rest of the food is passed through the small intestine, which is covered with enzymes from the liver and pancreas. The small intestine then absorbs nutrients from the food.
6. The food is then brought to the cloaca, which is a temporary storage for wastes from the urinary and digestive systems. Most birds, including owls, do not have a bladder.
7. The waste is excreted through the vent.
8. After eating, the wastes that are still in the gizzard (feathers, bones, teeth, fur) are compressed into a pellet.
9. This pellet is sent up to the proventriculus, where it can stay for up to ten hours before being thrown up.
10. Throwing up the pellet means that it is time for the owl to eat again. It cannot eat while the pellet is still in the proventriculus, because it is blocking food from passing through.
http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=owl+physiology&title=digestion