Quaternary bird remains from the southern North Sea

Based on a literature survey and unpublished material fished by Dutch fishing vessels and collected by citizen scientists from Dutch beaches nourished with near-shore suction-dredged sediments, an overview is provided of the avian fossil record from the Quaternary (predominantly Late Pleistocene and Holocene) of the southern part of the North Sea. Previously recorded taxa are listed, in some cases with new specimens. Newly recorded taxa are: Tetrao praeurogallus Jánossy, 1969, Gavia immer (Brünnich, 1764), Calonectris sp./ Pterodroma sp., Ciconia nigra (Linnaeus, 1758), Pandion haliaetus (Linnaeus, 1758), Accipiter gentilis (Linnaeus, 1758), Stercorarius pomarinus (Temminck, 1815), Alle alle (Linnaeus, 1758), Uria aalge (Pontoppidan, 1763) and Bubo scandiacus (Linnaeus, 1758). At least 44 species are now known.The fossil avifauna from the North Sea remains relatively poorly known, due to scarcity of sufficiently preserved material and comparatively low research effort. Lack of geological context hampers detailed interpretation of the material. Much work remains to be done, but it is clear that the specimens hold significant potential to refine our alaeoecological understanding of this drowned ecosystem.