The pleistocene avifaunas of Europe
Cécile Mourer-Chauviré

ABSTRACT: The pleistocene avifaunas from Europe include a few Tertiary relicts which progressively vanish during the Lower Pleistocene and the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene. These forms are mainly Pavo and Palaeocryptonyx in Western Europe, and Francolinus in Central Europe. During the Middle Pleistocene the characteristic association in Western Europe is Perdix palaeoperdix - Corvus antecorax, while in Central Europe the most characteristic elements are the Tetraoninae. In the Upper Pleistocene the cold elements become more and more abundant, in Western Europe as well as in Central Europe, and are mainly represented by Lagopus lagopus, L. mutus, Nyctea scandiaca, and Pyrrhocorax graculus. The avifaunas of the Mediterranean islands do not include a large number of endemic extinct forms, and among them, the most numerous so far known belong to the Strigiformes. The study of the frequency of the different parts of the avian skeleton recovered in the fossiliferous localities gives information about the agent responsible for the accumulation of the material.