Identify different bird pellets to learn which birds are in the area.

By Megan Shersby

Published: Monday, 03 April 2023 at 12:00 am

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What are pellets?

Pellets are often confused with mammal droppings, or scats, but are in fact regurgitated undigested food left by birds. They are usually found where birds have been feeding, roosting or nesting, and though wet and soft when fresh, soon dry out and harden.

All birds produce pellets, depending on what they have been eating, though some are more obvious than others. The ones found most frequently are those from raptors, which feed on mammals and birds – the fur, bones and feathers remain undigested.

In other bird species, fish bones and scales, seeds, plant matter, shells and insect remains may all be packaged up into a single pellet. Some large seabirds, such as gulls and skuas, swallow petrels, auks and rodents whole – subsequent pellets contain almost intact bones and wings.

• How to identify bird feathers
• How to identify bird and mammal nests

How to identify different bird pellets

Buzzard pellet

Size 4.5–6cm

Large; fur and feathers but few bones as food is picked apart; under trees and telegraph poles and in fields.

Kestrel pellet

Size 2–4cm

Small; fur, small mammal bones and (on heaths) reptile scales and bones. Below nestboxes and holes in trees.

• Common kestrel guide: how to identify them, how many eggs do they lay, and how long do they live for

Peregrine pellet

Size 2–6cm

Large, thick, round; small body feathers, sometimes bones. Below favoured perches on buildings.

Sparrowhawk pellet

Size 5–6cm

Small – round at one end, pointed at the other; lots of small feathers. Below favourite plucking perches.

• 7 sparrowhawk facts you need to know

Tawny owl pellet

Size 2–5cm

Medium-sized; fur and bones of small mammals; birds’ skulls and bones. Below roost and nest sites in trees.

• Owl pellets guide: how to identify and dissect
• Tawny owl guide: how to identify, diet and where to see

Great black backed gull pellet

Size 3.5–5.5cm

Large, loose, fibrous; plant, insect, fish and mammal remains. Eats small seabirds and mammals whole

• Black-headed gull guide: how to identify, diet and where to see

Herring gull pellet

Size 2.5–5cm

Coarse, fibrous, loose, yellow-brown; grass, insect parts, grain, bones, skulls, fish bones, scales. Near nests.

Magpie pellet

Size 3.5–4.5cm

Elongated and pointed; mix of seeds, bits of grass, insect wingcases, bones and fur. Lawns and short grassland.

Rook pellet

Size 3–4cm

Fibrous; vegetable matter, seeds, insect remains. Below rookeries and in fields where the birds feed.

Blackbird pellet

Size 1–2cm

Tightly packed, small, short, oval-shaped; full of insect body parts and fruit pips. Lawns and feeding sites.

• Common blackbird guide: species facts, how to identify males, females and juveniles

Robin pellet

Size 1cm

Raisin-sized; insects, woodlice, seeds, centipede parts. Close to nests or below favourite singing perches.

• European robin guide: diet, habitat and species facts

Redshank pellet

Size 1–2cm

Small, moist, loose; crustaceans, seeds, grit, worms, shell fragments. Breakwaters, seawalls, mudflats.

 

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Illustrations: Mike Langman

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