Little is known about the early history of the chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), including the timing and circumstances of its introduction into new cultural environments. To evaluate its spatio-temporal spread across Eurasia and north-west Africa, the authors radiocarbon dated 23 chicken bones from presumed early contexts. Three-quarters returned dates later than those suggested by stratigraphy, indicating the importance of direct dating. The results indicate that chickens did not arrive in Europe until the first millennium BC. Moreover, a consistent time-lag between the introduction of chickens and their consumption by humans suggests that these animals were initially regarded as exotica and only several centuries later recognised as a source of ‘food’.

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© Raptor Protection ofSlovakia (RPS) 17 Distribution, abundance, breeding parameters, threats and prey preferences of the eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) in European Turkey Rozšírenie, početnosť, hniezdne parametre, hrozby a potravné preferencie orla kráľovského (Aquila heliaca) v európskej časti Turecka Dimitar DEMERDZHIEV, Dobromir DOBREV, Süreyya ISFENDIYAROĞLU, Zlatozar BOEV, Stoycho STOYCHEV, Nikolay TERZIEV & Svetoslav SPASOV Abstract: During the period 2008-2013, 32 different breeding territories were occupied by eastern imperial eagles (EIEs). These territories were mainly distributed in two regions: the Dervent Heights / Yıldız Mts. and the area to the north of the Marmara sea coast. The nearest neighbour distance established was 4.2 km. The mean distance between pairs was 10.44±2.95 km. The mean value of breeding success for the period 2008-2013, including 107 cases of incubation, was 1.01±0.10. The mean breeding success of birds in the Marmara region (1.05±0.78) was higher than that in the Dervent Heights / Yıldız Mts. (0.91±0.84). The present study on the diet of the EIE was based on the remains of 582 prey items of at least 70 taxa. Mammals were the most common group (46.5%), followed by birds (32.4%) and reptiles (20.3%). The white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus) was the most common prey, followed by two tortoises -Hermann's tortoise (Eurotestudo hermanni) and the Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca) -which together accounted for a total of 14.4% of the prey caught. The prey species particularly represented in the food spectrum of the studied pairs were: the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), the European souslik (Spermophilus citellus), the chicken (Gallus gallus f. domestica) and the white stork (Ciconia ciconia). These species together accounted for 67.8% of the prey caught. There was a statistically significant difference (Z=2.52, p=0.01) in the food preferences of the EIEs in the two studied regions.Abstrakt: V období 2008-2013 bolo orlami kráľovskými obsadených 32 rôznych hniezdnych teritórií. Tieto územia sa nachádza-jú najmä v dvoch oblastiach: pohorie Derventa / Yıldız a územie na sever od Marmarského mora. Najbližšia vzdialenosť medzi hniezdiskami bola 4,2 km. Stredná vzdialenosť medzi pármi bola 10,44 ± 2,95 km. Priemerná hodnota hniezdnej úspešnosti v období 2008-2013 vrátane 107 prípadov inkubácii bola 1,01±0,10. Priemerná hniezdna úspešnosť vtákov v Marmarskom regióne (1,05±0,78) bola vyššia ako v oblasti pohorí Derventa / Yıldız (0,91±0,84). Predkladaná štúdia potravy orla kráľovského bola založená na 582 zvyškoch koristi, obsahujúcej minimálne 70 taxónov. Cicavce boli najrozšírenejšie skupinou (46.5 %), nasledované vtákmi (32,4 %) a plazmi (20,3 %). Najčastejšou korisťou bol jež bledý (Erinaceus roumanicus) a dva druhy korytnačiek -korytnačka zelenkastá (Eurotestudo hermanni) a korytnačka grécka (Testudo graeca), ktoré dohromady predstavovali celkom 14,4 % z ulovenej koristi. Potravné spektrum sledovaných párov obsahoval tieto druhy koristi: čajka žltonohá (Larus ...