The Bonelli's eagle is a large bird of prey from the Accipitridae family. Its breeding areas are very specific and include southern Europe, North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean (including Israel), South Asia and Indonesia. A study led by researchers from the University of Granada in Spain along with researchers from Alcalá University in Spain have made some surprising discoveries.
3 View gallery The Bonelli's eagle near the Spain-Portugal border ( Photo: Pascal De Munck, Shutterstock ) "The Bonelli's eagle is a 'newcomer' to Europe. This species probably began establishing itself in the Mediterranean basin around 50,000 years ago. In contrast, others, like the golden eagle (A.
chrysaetos), have been present here much longer, as fossil records attest," explains Professor Marcos Moleón Paiz, from the Department of Zoology at University of Granada. According to the study, spatial analyses show that Bonelli's eagle is significantly disadvantaged during cold climatic periods, unlike the golden eagle. "During the last glacial period, the Bonelli's eagle could only find refuge in warm coastal areas, precisely where its oldest fossils have been found.
" Eva Graciá, a professor of Ecology at The Miguel Hernández University, notes that "genetic analyses confirmed that around the last glacial maximum, the Mediterranean population of Bonelli's eagles must have been formed by few individuals." 3 View gallery Bonelli's eagle ( Photo: Jesus Giraldo Gutierrez, Shutterstock ) Accord.
