Abstract
In 2006, after centuries of absence, a pair of white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) bred successfully in the Netherlands. Since then, the species has slowly spread across the country. The white-tailed eagle’s return is a consequence of its spectacular increase in Northern Europe and Germany, and the westward expansion of the breeding area. At least one bird of the first breeding pair hatched in Schleswig-Holstein, Northern Germany.
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Notes
At most sites, the number of white-tailed eagle bones is small, between one and five approximately.
N sites as mentioned in Dutch archaeozoological database BoneInfo, 03-03-2017. Medieval-Postmedieval sites cover the Middle Ages as well as the Postmedieval period.
Van Wijngaarden-Bakker 1997.
Both sites are Neolithic.
Percentages calculated on the basis of the number of white-tailed eagle bones relative to the total number of sites per period.
There is archaeozoological evidence for falconry in the Netherlands from the 11th–twelfth century onwards (Prummel 2013).
‘Edele vogelen’ in Dutch.
19 April 1708 and 18 February 1711.
Personal communication Alwin Hut, employee nature management Het Groningen Landschap.
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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Avian Zooarchaeology: Prehistoric and Historical Insights
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Zeiler, J.T. The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) in the Netherlands: changing landscapes, changing attitudes. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 11, 6371–6375 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0600-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0600-3