![\"red-tailed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-3669-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDon’t worry, there’s nothing gory in this short “before and after the meal” series. And I’ve also included a bit of a raptor\u00a0biology lesson.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n I photographed this Red-tailed Hawk about three weeks ago in Box Elder County, Utah after it returned to a\u00a0power pole to enjoy its meal of freshly caught vole. I believe the little rodent was still alive when I took this photo\u00a0but it didn’t take long for the bird to dispatch the vole and consume it. Notice the crop of the hawk. Even at this angle it’s obvious that the crop is empty. In fact it even appears slightly concave and there is no bulge there at all.<\/p>\n When the meal was finished the\u00a0bird cleaned its bill on the beam of the pole and soon took off. After the vole had been consumed one might assume that there would be no evidence\u00a0that the vole ever existed but as you’re about to see that isn’t the case.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, utility pole removed,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n This image was taken just as the hawk lifted off (I’ve removed part of the pole so the viewer can focus on the bird). Notice the bulging crop in\u00a0the area of the upper chest. That bulge was caused by the vole which is still in the crop and\u00a0hasn’t yet reached the stomach.<\/p>\n The crop is like a pouch along the esophagus where food is initially placed before it reaches the stomach. Food is softened and temporarily stored there.<\/p>\n Diurnal birds of prey (hawks, eagles and falcons) have a crop as do most, though not all, other birds. An amazing amount of food can be stored in the crop which then bulges out from the bird’s upper chest\u00a0and that\u00a0can give the raptor the look of a feathered Mae West!<\/p>\n Having a crop provides several advantages to a raptor, including:<\/p>\n After the food passes through the crop,\u00a0indigestibles like fur, scales,\u00a0and insect exoskeletons from the meal are formed into a pellet or casting\u00a0in the gizzard\u00a0and the pellet\u00a0is later regurgitated by mouth.\u00a0The stomach\u00a0(where the food eventually goes)\u00a0of many hawks is so acidic that bones can be digested\u00a0so their pellets typically do not contain bones.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Swainson’s Hawk casting a pellet<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n It’s interesting to note that owls do not have crops. They swallow their prey whole and their food goes directly to\u00a0the stomach where indigestibles are formed into pellets and eventually regurgitated. Owls cannot digest bones so their pellets typically contain them.<\/p>\n Ok, enough digestion anatomy and physiology. I realize that many of my blog followers are raptorphiles so much of this information is old hat to them. But I thought other readers might find it interesting.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Don’t worry, there’s nothing gory in this short “before and after the meal” series. And I’ve also included a bit of a raptor biology lesson.<\/p>\n![\"red-tailed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-3706-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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![\"swainsons](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/swainsons-hawk-4084-ron-dudley1.jpg\")
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