**5. Conclusions**

Two owl species (*B. bubo* and *S. aluco*) are established in the Calabrian, and a genus (*Athene*) even in the Gelasian. Data from Bulgaria confirm that *B. bubo* and *S. aluco* coexisted with the Paleolithic man at least since 1.6 Mya. Although hominine remains have not been found in the Gelasian bird localities in Bulgaria, it is beyond any doubt that the owls and the first people in Bulgaria and the Balkans shared their cave dwellings. The present study is the first attempt to summarize available information on the composition, chronostratigraphic distribution, current conservation, and residental status and threats of owls in Bulgaria. Although scarce, these are also the first data on the past of owls in the country.

The Quaternary Bulgarian strigiform avifauna is rich and diversified. Two families, 8 genera, 12 species, and 13 subspecies of recent owls are recorded in the country's nature in the last over 2 Mya. Bone finds of two Early Pleistocene localities are incompletely identified (as *Asio* and *Athene*, respectively). Two species (*B. scandiacus* and *S. nebulosa*) disappeared from the country's recent avifauna. The southernmost limits of the breeding ranges of three species (*Stix uralensis*, *A. funereus*, and *G. passerinum*) pass through the territory of Bulgaria, which lies on the southern periphery of their ranges. Three species are endangered, 2—vulnerable, 1—threatened, and all the 12 species are protected by law. Only one species (*T. alba*) is represented by two

*Owls (Strigiformes Wagler, 1830) in Bulgaria: Past and Present (A Review of the Fossil Record… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107371*

subspecies in the Bulgarian fauna. Earliest record of owls came from Gelasian (2.5 Mya) and Calabrian (1.6 Mya). The find of *Athene* sp. is determined as the oldest European record of that genus.

Although not abundant, the fossil/subfossil record of owls is highly intriguing and promising field of paleozoological research.
