Songbirds are the largest order of birds with 6456 species, making up more than half of every known bird species. The location and time of their emergence, as well as the method of their spreading, is debated. They are present in the Carpathian Basin from the beginning of the Neogene, with an increasing number of types and species. Due to their diverse ways of life and diets, their presence mirrors the environmental conditions of the given geological periods quite accurately.

The author provides an osteological guide to songbirds, based on 11 skeletal parts of 51 genera, at the genus level for ornithologists studying owl pellets, paleontologists and archaezoologists. The mandible, the coracoid bone, the scapula, the humerus, the ulna, the carpometacarp, the first phalanx bone of the second finger, the femur, the tibiotars, the tarsometatars and the claw bone are presented. The morphological characteristics and method of measurement of the examined skeletal parts and the photographs of the appropriate bones are illustrated on 52 plates and 17 figures. The measurement data are also provided in 11 size tables. For every discussed bone, 3-6 characteristics are chosen, and their codes consist of 3-6 letters. In case of overlaps, dimensions are the determining factors, and for the humerus and the ulna, the ensemble of the two bone end pairs can be used.

Owls represent typical nocturnal avian predators. They are known since the beginning of the Tertiary. Thirteen species live in Europe, but the number of extinct fossil species is only slightly above twice that number. The present genera appeared in the Neogene period. They also have a major significance regarding palaeoecology, since most of the fossilized remains of small-medium sized vertebrates are available from owl pellets. The author wishes to describe the occurrence and evolution of owls in Europe from the Cretaceous to current times, as well as to provide an osteological guide of recent species. The text is supplemented by 16 plates, 4 size charts, and extensive bibliography.Keywords: Europe, owl, evolution, palaeoecology, osteology Összefoglalás A baglyok a madárvilág jellegzetes éjjeli ragadozóit képviselik. A harmadidőszak elejétől már ismertek. Európában 13 fajuk él, de a kihalt fosszilis fajaik száma is alig éri el ennek a kétszeresét. A mai nemzetségek a Neogénben jelentek meg. Jelentőségük paleoökológialag igen nagy, hiszen a kis-közép és kistermetű szárazföldi gerincesek fosszilis maradványainak nagy része az ő köpetelő tevékenységüknek köszönhe-tő. A jelen tanulmányban a szerző a baglyok európai jelenlétét és evolúcióját mutatja be a Krétától napjainkig, valamint a recens fajok csonttani határozóját is megadja. A szöveget 16 táblakép, 4 mérettáblázat és irodalomjegyzék egészíti ki.

This paper presents the European fossil, subfossil and recent representatives of the Picidae family. Following the list of fossil and subfossil remains, the author analyzes and presents images of the osteological characteristics of the order’s 10 recent European species. Skeletal parts that are usually present both in the fossil and subfossil material were examined (mandibula, coracoideum, scapula, humerus, ulna, metacarpus, the first phalanx of the second finger of the wing, femur, tibiotarsus, tarsometatarsus and distal phalanx). The text is complemented with the bibliography concerning the fossilized material, tables and figures and a size chart.

Corvids are the largest songbirds in Europe. They are known in the avian fauna of Europe from the Miocene, the beginning of the Neogene, and are currently represented by 11 species. Due to their size, they occur more frequently among fossilized material than other types of songbirds, and thus have been examined to the largest extent. In the current article, we present their known evolution and their fossilized taxa in Europe and examine the osteology of extant species.