Ingestion of lead (Pb) derived from ammunition used in the hunting of game animals is recognised to be a significant potential source of Pb exposure of wild birds, including birds of prey. However, there are only limited data for birds of prey in Europe regarding tissue concentrations and origins of Pb. Eurasian buzzards (Buteo buteo) found dead in the United Kingdom during an 11-year period were collected and the concentrations of Pb in the liver and femur were measured. Concentrations in the liver consistent with acute exposure to Pb were found in 2.7% of birds and concentration in the femur consistent with exposure to lethal levels were found in 4.0% of individuals. Pb concentration in the femur showed no evidence of consistent variation among or within years, but was greater for old than for young birds. The Pb concentration in the liver showed no effect of the birds’ age, but varied markedly among years and showed a consistent tendency to increase substantially within years throughout the UK hunting season for gamebirds. The resemblance of the stable isotope composition of Pb from buzzard livers to that of Pb from the types of shotgun ammunition most widely-used in the UK increased markedly with increasing Pb concentration in the liver. Stable isotope results were consistent with 57% of the mass of Pb in livers of all of the buzzards sampled being derived from shotgun pellets, with this proportion being 89% for the birds with concentrations indicating acute exposure to Pb. Hence, most of the Pb acquired by Eurasian buzzards which have liver concentrations likely to be associated with lethal and sublethal effects is probably obtained when they prey upon or scavenge gamebirds and mammals shot using Pb shotgun pellets.

食入猎杀狩猎动物所用的弹药中的铅（Pb）被认为是野生鸟类（包括猛禽）暴露于Pb的重要潜在来源。但是，对于欧洲的猛禽而言，有关组织浓度和Pb来源的数据很少。欧亚的秃鹰（But））收集了在11年内在英国发现的死亡信息，并测量了肝脏和股骨中的Pb浓度。在2.7％的鸟类中发现了与铅急性暴露相一致的肝脏中浓度，在4.0％的个体中发现了与致死水平相一致的股骨中浓度。股骨中的Pb浓度在数年之间或数年内均未显示出一致的变化迹象，但老年鸟的铅浓度高于幼鸽。肝脏中的Pb浓度对鸟类的年龄没有影响，但几年间差异显着，并且在整个英国狩猎季节的数年中，始终显示出持续增加的趋势。随b在肝脏中铅浓度的增加，来自秃鹰肝脏的铅的稳定同位素组成与来自英国最广泛使用的shot弹药类型的铅的稳定同位素组成相似。稳定的同位素结果与从shot弹药丸中提取的所有肉食的肝脏中Pb的质量的57％一致，对于禽类，该比例为89％，其浓度表明已急性暴露于Pb。因此，当它们捕食或清除使用Pb gun弹丸射击的猎鸟和哺乳动物时，可能会获得大多数由欧亚秃uzz所捕获的Pb，这些Pb具有可能与致死和亚致死作用相关的肝脏浓度。稳定的同位素结果与从shot弹药丸中提取的所有肉食的肝脏中Pb的质量的57％一致，对于禽类，该比例为89％，其浓度表明已急性暴露于Pb。因此，当它们捕食或清除使用Pb gun弹丸射击的猎鸟和哺乳动物时，可能会获得大多数由欧亚秃uzz所捕获的Pb，这些Pb具有可能与致死和亚致死作用相关的肝脏浓度。稳定的同位素结果与从shot弹药丸中提取的所有肉食的肝脏中Pb的质量的57％一致，对于禽类，该比例为89％，其浓度表明已急性暴露于Pb。因此，当它们捕食或清除使用Pb shot弹丸射击的猎鸟和哺乳动物时，可能会获得大多数具有肝脏浓度可能与致死和亚致死作用相关的欧亚秃鹰所捕获的Pb。