“…Experimental research on captive raptors (Duke et al, 1975;Dodson & Wexlar, 1979;Hoffman, 1988) and studies of raptor pellets collected in natural settings (Hockett, 1989(Hockett, , 1991Andrews, 1990) have clearly shown that the pellets of diurnal birds of prey such as harriers, hawks, kestrels, and eagles contain fewer bones and bones that exhibit greater corrosive damage than those found in owl pellets (Mayhew, 1977: 25;Korth, 1979: 240;Andrews, 1990: 26). The fewer bones in diurnal raptor pellets, however, can only partially be attributed to stronger gastric fluids because diurnal raptors often swallow fewer bones during feeding than do owls (Andrews, 1990: 28).…”