Factors influencing nest-site selection by Spanish Imperial Eagles

Positive assortative pairing by plumage colour in Spanish imperial eagles.

Intraspecific variation in plumage may have a functional significance in mate choice. As a result, breeding birds are often paired assortatively with respect to colour. However, whether this within-pair correlation is a result of homotypic preference whereby individuals pick a mate that looks like themselves, or directional preference whereby all individuals have the same phenotypic preference,...

Space use of adult Spanish Imperial Eagles Aquila adalberti

The ranges and space use of eight radio-tracked Spanish Imperial Eagles are described. The annual mean range was 25 146 ha during the breeding season (BS) and 20 557 ha in the non-breeding season (NBS). The eagles were found up to 35.9 km away from their nest during BS and nearly 62 km away during NBS. The maximum total distance covered in one day was 113.6 km, with males flying longer distance...

Rescue of a small declining population of Spanish imperial eagles

The Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti) is one of the most endangered raptors in the world. The population of Doñana National Park (south-western Spain) suffered a dramatic decline from 1990 on, after a long period of stability. The high adult mortality due to poisoning was the main cause of the decline, decreasing fecundity and biasing the offspring sex ratio to males due to a higher pro...

Nest Site Selection by Sea Turtles

Nest site selection by Holarctic waterfowl: a multi-level review

Because of birds’ mobility, behaviour and many species’ migratory nature, they select repeatedly and spatially among habitats and have been central figures in studies of avian breeding habitat selection during the 20th and 21st centuries. The scientific literature on habitat use by breeding waterfowl has origins dating back to the writings of Charles Darwin in The Voyage of the Beagle, wherein ...