Zbigniew M. Bochenski

Preservation of bird bones: erosion versus digestion by owls

Surface damage to bird bones from pellets of three species of owls (S. aluco, A. otus and B. bubo) was compared with that of bird bones exposed to weathering and soil corrosion (Zaskogo Cave in the Western Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria and Ciemna Cave, southern Poland). Scanning electron microscopy and light microscope examinations indicate that the effects of weathering of bird bones (extensive pitting and flaking away on whole bones, holes with sharp edges, depressions with rough bottoms and sharp edges of breakage) are distinguishable from those of digestion (rounding of hole edges on articular ends and sometimes on shafts, rounding of breakage). However, soil corrosion may produce similar rounding to that of digestion, which may hamper taphonomic interpretations of fossil assemblages. Two stages of weathering in bird bone are distinguished. Generally, the kind of damage done to bird bones is similar to that done to mammalian remains. Taphonomic studies of fossil bird remains should take into account a combination of features, including surface damage, fragmentation and possible chemical alterations of bone tissues.

An Old World hummingbird from the Oligocene: a new fossil from Polish Carpathians

A near-complete, partially articulated skeleton of a hummingbird was recently found in the menilite shales of the Polish Flysh Carpathians. The specimen is dated to the Early Oligocene (Rupelian, approx. 31 Myr). It shares derived characters with extant hummingbirds and plesiomorphic characters with swifts. Its long, thin beak and short and stout humerus and ulna are typical for hummingbirds, but the coracoid resembles that observed in swifts. The osteology of the specimen is generally similar to that of the hummingbird described from the Early Tertiary of Germany but because it clearly differs in some characters from the German hummingbird Eurotrochilus inexpectatus, it is described as a new species of the same genus.

Continuous 300,000-year fossil record: changes in the ornithofauna of Biśnik Cave, Poland

Biśnik Cave is situated in a limestone rock about 50 km northeast of Krakow, southern Poland. Its importance stems from the fact that it is one of the few sites in Europe, and the only one in Poland, with 300,000-year-long sequence of uninterrupted sediments, that cover the time span from before the Saalian to the Holocene. The excavations yielded about 200,000 animal bones and more than 4,000 stone, bone and antler artifacts. Bird remains from Biśnik Cave consist of nearly 1,600 skeletal fragments of at least 96 taxa that represent a minimum of 285 individuals. The majority of the remains belong to Galliformes; relatively numerous are also Corvidae, Falconiformes, Anseriformes and the genus Turdus. The remains include one extinct taxon (Falco tinnunculus atavus) and four species new for the Polish fossil avifauna (Aquila heliaca, Pinicola enucleator, Loxia pytyopsittacus and Carduelis flammea). Avian remains indicate a mosaic of various habitats in the surroundings of Biśnik Cave. Some kind of mature forest or at least sparsely growing trees, as well as water bodies, marshes, wet meadows, steppe and tundra habitats must have been present during the entire time of sedimentation. It is postulated that the Krakow-Czestochowa Upland was a local refugium for the forest fauna during the Saalian and Vistulian glaciations.

A new passerine bird from the early Oligocene of Poland

We describe a nearly complete articulated specimen representing a new species and genus, Jamna szybiaki gen. et sp. nov., of an early Oligocene passeriform bird from Poland. In overall osteology, the specimen resembles extant Passeriformes but it differs from that group in several characters including the not bifurcated spina externa (sternum) and the absence of a hooked processus acrocoracoideus (coracoid). Its affinities within Passeriformes cannot be resolved at the moment due to the lack of characters that would support its position within either Oscines or Suboscines. For the first time in Paleogene passerines, wing and tail feathers are visible which provide new information on the external appearance of the bird. Its morphology suggests that it was a frugivorous/insectivorous bird that lived in shrubs and forests.ZusammenfassungWir beschreiben ein fast vollständig artikuliertes Exemplar einer neuen Sperlingsvogel-Art und -Gattung, Jamna szybiaki gen. et sp. nov., aus dem frühen Oligozän in Polen. In seinem Knochenbau erinnert das Exemplar an heutige Sperlingsartige, unterscheidet sich jedoch von dieser Gruppe in einigen Merkmalen wie z.B. dem ungegabelten Brustbein (sternum) und dem nicht vorhandenen eingehakten Rabenschnabelfortsatz processus acrocoracoideus (coracoid). Die Verwandtschaft mit den Sperlingsvögeln ist derzeit noch nicht ganz klar, weil Merkmale fehlen, die seine Stellung innerhalb entweder der Oscines, oder der Suboscines festlegen würden. Zum ersten Mal sind hier bei einem Sperlingsvogel aus dem Paläogen Hand- und Schwanzfedern sichtbar; sie geben neue Informationen über das äußere Aussehen des Vogels. Seine Morphologie lässt vermuten, dass er ein Früchte- und Insektenfresser war und in Sträuchern und Wäldern lebte.

The third nearly complete passerine bird from the early Oligocene of Europe

AbstractA new species and genus of a passerine bird from the early Oligocene of Poland is described. Resoviaornis jamrozi gen. et sp. nov. is the third nearly complete passerine known so far from the Paleogene. As in the two recently described passerine birds, it shows a mosaic of characters typical for the Oscines or Suboscines, and therefore its systematic position within Passeriformes remains unresolved, pending discoveries of new specimens. The specimen is so far the oldest passerine to have the coracoid with well pronounced and hooked processus acrocoracoideus. With the size of the extant Blue Tit, it is also the smallest of the Oligocene passerines. The slender remnants of its beak point to an insectivorous or frugivorous bird, and the relatively long legs suggest that it spent much time on the ground.ZusammenfassungDer dritte, weitgehend vollständige Sperlingsvogel aus dem frühen Oligozän Europas Eine neue Art und Gattung der Sperlingsvögel wird aus dem frühen Oligozän Polens beschrieben. Resoviaornis jamrozi gen. et sp. nov. ist die dritte nahezu vollständig fossil überlieferte Sperlingsvogelart aus dem Paläogen. Ähnlich wie bei zwei vor kurzem beschriebenen Arten zeigt das neue Fossil ein Mosaik von Merkmale typisch für Oscines und Suboscines. Bis zur Entdeckung neuer Exemplare bleibt seine systematische Stellung innerhalb der Passeriformes ungelöst. Das Fossil ist der bisher älteste Sperlingsvogel mit einem Coracoid mit einem gut ausgeprägten und hakenförmigen Processus acrocoracoideus. Mit der Größe einer rezenten Blaumeise ist die neue Art auch der kleinste der oligozänen Sperlingsvögel. Die Überreste seines schlanken Schnabels deuten auf einen insektenfressenden oder früchterfressenden Vogel, und die relativ lange Beine lassen vermuten, dass er viel Zeit auf dem Boden verbrachte.

Range shifts or extinction? : Ancient DNA and distribution modelling reveal past and future responses to climate warming in cold-adapted birds

Global warming is predicted to cause substantial habitat rearrangements, with the most severe effects expected to occur in high-latitude biomes. However, one major uncertainty is whether species will be able to shift their ranges to keep pace with climate-driven environmental changes. Many recent studies on mammals have shown that past range contractions have been associated with local extinctions rather than survival by habitat tracking. Here, we have used an interdisciplinary approach that combines ancient DNA techniques, coalescent simulations and species distribution modelling, to investigate how two common cold-adapted bird species, willow and rock ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus and Lagopus muta), respond to long-term climate warming. Contrary to previous findings in mammals, we demonstrate a genetic continuity in Europe over the last 20 millennia. Results from back-casted species distribution models suggest that this continuity may have been facilitated by uninterrupted habitat availability and potentially also the greater dispersal ability of birds. However, our predictions show that in the near future, some isolated regions will have little suitable habitat left, implying a future decrease in local populations at a scale unprecedented since the last glacial maximum.

A new genus and species of a galliform bird from the Oligocene of Poland

We describe an articulated partial skeleton representing a new genus and species, Sobniogallus albinojamrozi gen. et sp. nov., of an early Oligocene galliform bird from Poland. In overall osteology, mainly of the sternum, furcula, and humerus, the specimen resembles extant Galliformes but differs from that group in several characters including the “anseriform” carpometacarpus, which is typical for stem group galliform birds. The present study supports the notion that Galliformes and Anseriformes are sister taxa that together form the clade Galloanseres. The new species increases the known diversity of avian remains recovered from the Outer Carpathians and Central Paleogene Basin of Europe. Teresa Tomek. Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Slawkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland. tomek@isez.pan.krakow.pl Zbigniew M. Bochenski. Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Slawkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland. bochenski@isez.pan.krakow.pl corresponding author Krzysztof Wertz. Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Slawkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland. wertz@isez.pan.krakow.pl Ewa Swidnicka. Department of Palaeozoology, Chair of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław, Poland. gama@biol.uni.wroc.pl

The first complete leg of a passerine bird from the early Oligocene of Poland

The leg bones of a small passeriform bird are described from the early Oligocene (29 Mya) of Poland. The specimen is the earliest complete passerine leg with elements in articulation described so far, and increases the known diversity of the very scanty records of the oldest European passeriforms. In general proportions the leg bones resemble those of Luscinia svecica and other species that live in shrubs. Assignment to a family within the passerines is not possible because of the incompleteness of the fossil.

What happens to dead birds left in a cave and its vicinity for a quarter of a century? A taphonomic experiment

Abstract This paper describes a bird carcass-monitoring experiment carried out in a limestone cave and its immediate vicinity in southern Poland for almost a quarter of a century. Some specimens deposited outside the cave were preserved almost intact, others were only a little weathered. Soft tissues and remnants of feathers were preserved in some of the samples inside the cave. Stages of bone modifications that can occur in a cave have been distinguished and illustrated for the first time. Also, bird bones from owl pellets have been used in a carcass-monitoring experiment for the first time. Bone modifications in the form of wrinkling, bending and/or collapsing of the bone surface were recorded only on the bones of birds that decomposed inside the cave, and not on bones that had been isolated from owl pellets prior to their deposition in the cave. Therefore, it is postulated that avian – and possibly also small mammal – bones that have been defleshed, either by people or animals, have a greater chance to survive and fossilize than bones deposited as complete carcasses in a cave. This agrees with the generally accepted notion that larger assemblages of small vertebrates in caves are usually the result of predator accumulation.

Who ate the birds: the taphonomy of Sarakenos Cave, Greece

The taphonomic analysis of avian remains from Sarakenos Cave reveals that, contrary to previous suggestions, many bird bones excavated there represent food remains of the Eagle Owls rather than humans. The conclusion is based on the presence of traces of digestion, beak and claw punctures, and indirect evidence that includes relative preservation of particular elements, species composition, the lack of cut marks, and the absence of numerous traces of burning. Specimens with medullary bone and traces of digestion indicate that the owls killed breeding females in spring. Since it is unlikely that owls shared the cave with humans at the same time, it supports the notion based on archeological evidence that human groups did not inhabit it permanently.