RAPTORS IN TOWNS - TOWARDS AN ECOLOGICAL MODEL

A survey was undertaken of the occurrence of bones of raptorial birds in Roman and medieval nucleated settlements in northwestern Europe, an d the results were compared with a series of a priori predictions as t o which species were the most likely to have colonized such settings. The comparison showed that Haliaeetus albicilla, Buteo buteo and Milvu s milvus were recovered relatively frequently, and that these three we re amongst the species predicted to be the most successful urban scave ngers. it is suggested that Buteo lagopus and Milvus migrans are under recorded, and that records of Aquila pomarina might be expected in the circum-Baltic region. Accipiter species are inherently unlikely urban birds because of their hunting and feeding behaviour, and the numerou s records, especially of Accipiter gentilis are argued to be birds kep t for hawking. This would be consistent with the observation that Acci piter spp. are commonly found as whole or partial skeletons. The gener al agreement of observations with expectations is taken to validate th e underlying premise that refuse constituted a major environmental fac tor in Roman and medieval towns. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.