The archaeological record of birds in Britain and Ireland compared: Extinctions or failures to arrive?

The archaeological evidence can help to discriminate between species which never arrived on islands, the species that once were present but later became extinct, and the species that only arrived late, because of human introduction, or human modification of the island to provide suitable habitat. The archaeological record from Ireland is sufficient to allow some useful comparisons with Great Britain, identifying species (e.g. Capercaillie: Tetrao urogallus L., Black Grouse: T. tetrix (L.), Great Spotted Woodpecker: Dendrocopus major (L.)) which were once present but have probably been lost through deforestation, and others whose archaeological record is sufficient in Britain to indicate with moderate confidence that they never occurred in Ireland (e.g. Tawny Owl: Strix aluco L.).