Owls are pure hunters — carnivores that catch live prey, usually at night, with silent flight and remarkable hearing and eyesight. What they eat depends mostly on their size.
What owls eat in the wild
Owls are carnivores. The bulk of most owls' diet is small mammals — mice, voles, rats, shrews and rabbits — but they also take other birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and fish depending on the species. Small owls eat mostly insects and mice; large owls like the great horned owl can take skunks, rabbits and even other birds of prey.
How owls hunt and eat
Owls hunt with silent flight, exceptional night vision and pinpoint hearing that locates prey in the dark. They usually swallow small prey whole, then later cough up a compact pellet of the fur and bones they cannot digest — which is how scientists study exactly what an owl has been eating.
Can you feed wild owls?
No — you should not feed wild owls. They are predators that need to hunt live prey, and feeding them can make them dependent, draw them dangerously close to roads, or expose them to poisoned rodents. The best way to help owls is to protect their habitat and avoid rat poisons, which kill many owls each year through the mice and rats they eat.