We have gone the extra step of including information about the many specimens we provide that will compliment and augment the study experience.  Naturally we offer many products for biological study, but we also provide your students with a “searchable mini-encyclopedia” built right into the presentation of our products.  We encourage teachers to introduce your students to our site, so they can browse and discover all the information available.

We have been in business for over 30 years look forward to many more exciting years to come.

We would like to take the opportunity now to thank everyone for doing business with us and if we can help to better serve you in the future – please let us know.

Need to talk to someone, call 916-386-2665.
To Fax: 916-381-4006

PREPARING TO ORDER

To ensure delivery when you need it, place your order one week in advance. While some items can be delivered in a shorter time, please try to give us adequate time. Remember that this is biology, and some items are seasonal. Due to the high mortality rate experienced with specimens shipped over the weekend, we will guarantee live delivery only on orders shipped Monday through Wednesday. Also, keep in mind holidays when scheduling delivery.

We do not have a minimum order; however, we do follow the Packaging and Handling

Schedule listed below.
Pick-Up Orders No additional charge
Shipped Orders for less than $25.00 - $5.00 plus freight charge
Shipped Orders for $25.00 or more Freight charge only

Please Note:  Totals given after you place your order do NOT include shipping and handling charges.

**  If you would like assistance with shipping charges please call us at (916)386-2665.

GUARANTEE: 100%
If you are not completely satisfied, give us a call within one week of receipt and we will reship, credit you, or make any other necessary adjustments.

An important note about Barn Owls:

The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is one of the most wide-spread of all land birds. Sometimes they are called monkey-faced owls because of their appearance. Other common names are church owl, golden owl, rat owl, and stone owl.

They are found on all continents (except Antarctica) and large islands and occur over the whole of Australia, including Tasmania.

The Barn Owl is found in virtually all habitats but much more abundantly in open woodland, heaths and moors than forested country. They usually roost by day in tree hollows but have also been found in caves, wells, out-buildings or thick foliage.

Barn Owls feed on voles, frogs and insects, but are economically valuable birds as they also prey on animal pests like rats, shrews, moles and mice.

Like most birds, Barn Owls do not have teeth to chew their food.  Once caught, the Barn Owls prey is swallowed whole.  In some cases larger prey may be ripped into more manageable size pieces before being swallowed. 

After being swallowed the prey is then processed by the Barn Owl so that the owl can make use of all the nutrients it needs to survive.

The prey goes directly to the gizzard where it is broken apart by digestive enzymes.  The bones and hair that are not digested and utilized by the owl are later regurgitated in the form of a pellet.

Small compact balls composed of fur, bones and feathers.  Regurgitated by an owl after feeding, these pellets can reveal the type of critters that are preyed upon by the owl and give students an idea of predator-prey relationships.

Barn Owls have a notable shreee scream, ear-shattering at close range. They also hiss like steam kettles. When captured or cornered, they throw themselves on their backs and flail with sharp-taloned feet, an effective defense.

Barn owls were numerous until the late 1980s, however in recent years the population of the Barn Owl has diminished.  We can attribute the owl's decline to a number of factors: old barns being torn down, grasslands reverting to woods or farmland being gobbled up by urban sprawl.

Niles Biological is one of the World's largest suppliers of Owl Pellets. Naturally from both an economic and an environmental point of View, the welfare of our business as well as the welfare of our many owl pellet collectors is reliant on the ability for the Barn Owl to thrive.  In an effort to study the effects of Urban Sprawl, and other factors we are looking for Collectors in new areas so that we can analyze pellets from these new areas to compare that information with our current data.

If you would like information on how you can make an income by collecting owl pellets please contact me at ted@nilesbio.com  use the subject line: owl pellet income, or Owl pellet research.  Be sure to include you name, e-mail, and contact phone numbers.