B1ED-BONES FOUND IN THE CAVES. 233 



On the contrary, at the epoch of the filling of the Caves, the Harfang was one 

 of the commonest species in France; it must have found there the biological 

 conditions, hoth of climate and food, which are necessary for it to-day. Rodents, 

 therefore, were probably present; we know, however, that it eats also some 

 Birds, especially Ptarmigan. At Spitzbergen, where Rodents are wanting, the 

 Snowy Owls subsist on Lagopus hemileucurus. Now it is known that species of 

 the latter genus were formerly very numerous in France ; and they may have 

 served as food for Nyctea nivea. 



In the Cave of Les Eyzies nearly all the parts of the skeleton of these birds have 

 been found among others a tarso-metatarsal bone in a perfect state of preserva- 

 tion. This bone, by its conformation, would alone be sufficient for the rigorous 

 determination of the Harfang. The ulnas, on account of their solidity, are pretty 

 plentiful ; I have counted seven of the same side ; on one of them a deep spiral 

 furrow has been traced with a flint. 



The Station of La Madelaine has furnished six humeri, two tibias, two femurs, 

 several coracoids, and a few ulnas. In that of Laugerie Haute, a fragment of a 

 humerus proves the existence of the species ; while at Lacombe-Tayac no remains 

 of it have been met with ; at Bruniquel an arm-bone, a beak, and some digital 

 phalanges are the sole indications of the presence of this bird. At Massat the 

 number of Harfang bones is small ; I have seen only three from that locality. 

 In the Cave at Lherm, on the contrary, M. Filhol has found them in abundance. 

 This learned naturalist has kindly sent me the specimens he collected there ; and 

 among them I have found five coracoids, four scapulas, eight humeri, several 

 tibias, and other bones, such as ulnas, femurs, and rnetacarpals. At Aurignac a 

 single humerus has been discovered. At Gourdan Nyctea nivea is not rare ; I have 

 recognized several bones of this Bird among those sent me by M. Piette. The 

 Spanish Caves and those in Liguria, the fossils of which I have been able to 

 study, contain no remains of the Harfang ; nevertheless it is probable that some 

 exist in the breccias of Sardinia*. 



PASSERES. 



17. THE RAVEN. Corvus corax, Linne". Le Corbeau ordinaire. 



The Raven is very common in the northern countries, in Iceland for instance, 

 and in Northern Asia; but it inhabits France also, and breeds there. Its 

 presence in the Caves of Perigord is not surprising : it is, however, to be 



* See ' Recherches pour servir a PHistoire des Oiseaux fossiles,' t. ii. p. 501. 



2K 



