The predated scavenging birds. Example of "les loups du Gévaudan" park.

Les oiseaux charognards prédatés. L'exemple du parc « les loups du Gévaudan »

Anna Rufa (1) , Véronique Laroulandie (1)

1 PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie

The study of birds as prey has been developed since decades of research. However, little is known about scavenging birds such as corvids and diurnal raptors, which can be found in archaeological sites and are potential prey for other predators. These birds link all or part of their dietary habits to the predators’ leftovers. During the feeding process on carcasses, it has been observed that these scavengers are more vulnerable to external threats: they are distracted, they do not fear of external agents who are in the surrounding area, and sometimes they gorge themselves to the extent that they are not able to fly just after their meal. Thus, other predators can profit from this situation and capture them. This work attempts to present a case study of carrion feeding birds predated by wolfs in captivity. The sample contains three bird taxa, all scavengers. A few bones represent each specimen. Most of them are fragmented and carry modifications in the form of tooth marks.

Mots clés: taphonomy; bird; scavenger

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire

Anna Rufa, Véronique Laroulandie. The predated scavenging birds. Example of "les loups du Gévaudan" park.. Colloque international en hommage à Emilie Campmas. Sociétés humaines et environnements dans la zone circumméditerranéenne du Pléistocène au début de l’Holocène, Mar 2021, Toulouse (en ligne), France. ⟨hal-03200758⟩