Fresh pellets, especially of owls, are covered with a moist iridescent sheen. They can be carefully teased apart and examined to learn what the hawk or owl had been eating. Owls gulp their food and swallow many bones along with the flesh. These bones are only slightly digested and persist in the pellets. A pellet that contains large bones, such as those from the leg of a rabbit, is undoubtably from a great horned owl.
Hawks feed more daintily and have stronger digestive juices than owls.
Thus, hawk pellets contain fewer bones. These laws strictly prohibit the capture, killing, or possession of hawks or owls without special permit. In addition, most states have regulations regarding hawks and owls. Some species may be common in one state but may be on a state endangered species list in another. Endangered - Nests from central Alaska across northcentral Canada to central Mexico.