Question: I’ve read that barred owls swallow their prey whole. Does that mean alive, kicking and screaming, or is the prey killed in some way first? (Gruesome question, but I like to get my facts straight when writing.) Thank you so much for your help! Pam
Answer: No need to worry about grusome questions, Pam. Nature is often gruesome. As for whether a barred owl (Strix varia) can swallow a rodent alive, in the first video here, you’ll see a wild barred owl bring a small rodent to its perch, bite its head off and then swallow the rest of the body in one piece. In the second video, a captive barred owl eats an entire dead mouse whole. In the third clip, you’ll see a barred owl with a rat, which is screaming … until it isn’t. We don’t get to see the owl swallow the rat, but I think we can imagine it. If you search youtube, you’ll see examples of other owl species swallowing rodents whole and alive.
A couple of years ago, I saw a great blue heron (Ardea herodias) catch and swallow a chipmunk (Tamias striatus) whole, and as the unfortunate rodent went down, it was most definitely “alive, kicking and screaming.” I could hear it from 50 feet away. It looked like a miniature scene from Jurassic Park.
So while I don’t have any direct evidence that a barred owl could swallow a mouse alive, I have no doubt that they do sometimes. Tom
