The remains of birds are highly interesting and instructive. The domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus) is "conspicuous by its absence." It is less surprising that the two domestic swallows of Denmark, (Hirundo rustica and H. urbica), the sparrow, and the stork are also missing. On the other hand, fine specimens of the capercailzie (Tetrao urogallus) which feeds principally on the buds of the pine, shows that, as we knew already from the remains found in the peat, the country was at one time covered with pine forests. Aquatic birds, however, are the most frequent, especially several species of ducks and geese. The wild swan (Anas cygnus, L.), which only visits Denmark in winter, is also found; but perhaps, the most interesting of the birds whose remains have been identified is the Great Auk (Alca impennis, L.), a species which is now almost extinct.
During our short visit to Havelse we found perhaps a hundred fragments of bone belonging principally to the following animals:—
The stag (Cervus elaphus, L.)
The roedeer (Cervus capreolus, L.)
The wild boar (Sus scrofa, L.)
The wild bull (Bos urus or primigenius) and
The seal (Phoca gryppus, Fabr.)
These are the commonest species, but the following also occur:—
The beaver (Castor fiber, L.)
The wolf (Canis lupis, L.)
The fox (Canis vulpes, L.)
The dog (Canis familiaris, L.)
The lynx (Felis lynx, L.)
The wild cat (Felis catus, L.)
The marten (Mustela martes, L.)
The otter (Lutra vulgaris, Erxl.)
The hedgehog (Erinaceus europæus, L.)
The water rat (Hypudæus amphibius, L.)
The Lithuanian auroch (Bison europæus) has been found, though rarely, in the peat bogs, but not yet in the Kjökkenmöddings. The musk ox (Bubalus moschatus) and the domestic ox (Bos taurus), as well as the elk, the reindeer, the hare, the sheep, and the domestic hog, are all absent. Remains of the two former will probably be ere long discovered. It may perhaps be inferred that the hares were spared in deference to the same superstition which preserved them from the ancient Britons, and which in Lapland and some other countries survives even to the present day.[1]
Professor Steenstrup does not believe that the domestic hog of ancient Europe was directly derived from the wild boar, but rather that it was introduced from the East, and the skulls which he showed us in support of this belief certainly exhibited very great differences between the two races. It is extremely unlikely that an animal so powerful and so intractable as the Urus appears to have been, can
- ↑ It is a curious fact that as Professor Steenstrup informs me, the bones from the Kjökkenmöddings of Jutland indicate as a general rule larger and more powerful animals than those of the Islands.
