Circaetus gallicus information navigator

The following articles have been published online this month. In the first one Ugo Mellone summarizes and analyzes results of many years of research on the migration of birds of prey through and around the Mediterranean Sea. The pattern of most circuitous migration route is exhibited by Short-toed Snake Eagle:

• Ugo MELLONE, 2020 – Sea crossing as a major determinant for the evolution of migratory strategies in soaring birds // Journal of Animal Ecology, 89 (6): pp.1298-1301. doi:10.1111/1365-2656.13241 (En).

The next paper is dedicated to the complex roadkill study. Unexpectedly, STE gets on the top 10 of the most vulnerable species of Europe:

• Clara GRILO, Elena KOROLEVA, Richard ANDRÁŠIK, Michal BÍL, Manuela GONZÁLEZ‐SUÁREZ, 2020 – Roadkill risk and population vulnerability in European birds and mammals // Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. doi:10.1002/fee.2216 (En).

Egidio the adult male Short-toed Eagle has been mentioned on our site since 2013. His chick named Michele in memory of Michele Panuccio was tagged with a transmitter as well in 2019. The young eagle has returned to the region of birth exactly like his father did it in his second calendar year. You can read a story of them on the Inglorious Bustards site:

• S. TONKIN, 2020 – A tale of two Eagles // ingloriousbustards.com (En).

Also, Ugo Mellone tells about the tagged Short-toed Eagles in the interview which is available on the Medraptors Facebook page.

Three young Short-toed Eagles were tagged with transmitters when they were yet in the nests in Hungary, Montenegro and Italy in 2019. The eagles now are 2cy immature birds, still being tracked and their migration behaviour is of great interest.

Egidio is an adult Short-toed Eagle male tagged with a satellite transmitter being a chick in the Regional Park Gallipoli Cognato /map/ in 2013. He successfully bred in 2019 and had his own fledgling. The juvenile Short-toed has been tagged with a transmitter as well and named Michele after late Michele Panuccio. The tracker was installed at the end of July by Michele’s friends, members of the Mediterranean Raptor Migration Network: Ugo Mellone, Nicolantonio Agostini, Giuseppe Lucia and Vicente Urios (MEDRAPTORS.org, MEDRAPTORS Facebook).

Current tracks of both the eagles are available on the project page.

Please read the obituary for Michele Panuccio:

• Nicolantonio AGOSTINI and Ugo MELLONE, 2019 – Obituary – Michele Panuccio, 1976-2019 // Avocetta, 43 (1): pp. 95-96. – (En).

Two papers about effects of the wind and the large water surface on Short-toed Eagle migration have been prepared by Spanish and Italian researchers and released this year:

The following post is dedicated to migrations of Short-toed Eagles of the Apennine Peninsula; Ugo Mellone summarizes research and observational data on the topic obtained at the moment:

• Ugo MELLONE, 2016 – Resolving the puzzle of Short-toed Eagle migration // www.bou.org.uk (En).

The following article has recently been accepted for publishing online. The abstract and description are available for free at the moment:

• Ugo MELLONE, Giuseppe LUCIA, Egidio MALLÌA, Vicente URIOS, 2016 – Individual variation in orientation promotes a 3000-km latitudinal change in wintering grounds in a long-distance migratory raptor // Ibis. Accepted Author Manuscript. doi:10.1111/ibi.12401 (En).