Reading the Owl Pellets: teacher key

Eurasian Eagle-Owls, grade 7 edition, written for 7th grade. Eagle-owls are among the biggest owls, and they are hard-to-find birds. Owl pellets help scientists understand what these birds eat.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What is an owl pellet?
   • A small ball of hair, feathers and bones it could not digest (answer)
   • A kind of egg
   • A nest of twigs
2. Who gave the 75 feet hearing figure?
   • A national census
   • A court
   • A Scottish safari park page (answer)
3. What can make an eagle-owl leave its territory?
   • Food shortages (answer)
   • A new nest
   • A loud call
4. Why would owl pellets help scientists study a hard-to-find bird?
   • They show what the birds eat (answer)
   • They show how old a bird is
   • They show where it sleeps
5. How long do young eagle-owls usually stay in their parents' territory after leaving the nest area?
   • 3 to 4 months (answer)
   • 3 to 4 days
   • 3 to 4 years
6. What is the average adult mass Animal Diversity Web lists?
   • 2,800 grams (answer)
   • 28 grams
   • 28,000 grams

Words

• mass: how heavy
• territory: an animal's area
• pellet: coughed-up ball
• solitary: mostly alone