RIJK JH DE (1990) Birds of prey in The Netherlands in the mid-19th century. LIMOSA 63 (4): 135-140.

A governmental premium system was adopted in the game laws of 1814 and 1852. Most documents concerning the payment of bounties during 1849-59 are preserved. They provide information on distribution and abundance of the commoner birds of prey. For a number of municipalities, information about the premium system was lost (fig. I). Unfortunately, identification of birds of prey killed was not always reliable. Eagles, probably mostly White-tailed Eagles, were mainly killed in winter. They must have been more common then than nowadays. Many Goshawks were killed in parts of the provinces of Friesland and Noord-Brabant (fig. 3). Since Goshawks were scarce or absent in these regions during the 20th century, it is plausible that these Goshawks actually were Sparrowhawks. The Sparrowhawk was the bird of prey killed most frequently. Many Sparrowhawks were caught by finchcatchers. The geographical distribution of premiums for killed Sparrowhawks is therefore biased, for example along the west coast (fig. 2). Buzzards were mainly killed in winter. This species was probably less common as a breeding bird than in the 20th century (fig. 4). The name kite was normally used for the Marsh Harrier. The kites of the premium system probably included the other harrier species, particularly Hen Harriers in winter. Although falcons were not specified in the documents, Kestrels were probably killed most frequently because of their abundance. ##### Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus Common Buzzard Buteo buteo Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla Osprey Pandion haliaetus Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus Black Kite Milvus migrans Red Kite Milvus milvus Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo Merlin Falco columbarius Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus

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