On the eve of the New Year, let’s have a look at the following remarkable pictures taken by different photographers in India in 2019 which present dramatic and curious moments of Short-toed Eagles’ life:
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Also, the authors of the shots tell stories behind them.
Diet and breeding site characteristics of six different raptor species, including STE, in Central India are compared in the following article:
• Satish PANDE, Reuven YOSEF, Federico MORELLI, Rajkumar PAWAR and Ram MONE, 2018 – Diet and habitat affinities in six raptor species in India // Avian Research, 9:36. doi:10.1186/s40657-018-0129-2 – 
(En).
That is a region where Short-toed Snake Eagles have potential food competitors. Besides, data on their diet and habitats in the Indian part of the distribution area are of great interest in themselves.
This old paper, dedicated to study of Short-toed Eagle diet in the Capanne di Marcarolo Natural Regional Park /map/ at the end of XX century, is available on the Carmagnola Natural History Museum site:
• Massimo CAMPORA, Silvia ALBERTI, 1997 – Osservazioni sulla dieta del biancone (Circaetus gallicus) in un’area dell’Appennino settentrionale [Observations on Short-toed Eagle diet in Northern Appennines (Italy, NW)] // Rivista Piemontese di Storia Naturale, 18: 233-239. – (It).
The article by Lionel Maumary and others contains the detailed description of the first ST Eagle breeding in Switzerland /map/ in 2012, observations of the breeding biology and the diet data particularly:
• Lionel MAUMARY, Hubert DUPERREX, Jacques CLOUTIER, Laurent VALLOTTON, 2013 – Première nidification du Circaète Jean-le-Blanc (Circaetus gallicus) en Suisse – Observations sur la biologie de reproduction, en particulier le régime alimentaire [The first nesting of Short-toed Snake Eagle in Switzerland – Observations of the reproductive biology, and the diet] // Nos Oiseaux, 60: pp. 3-24. (Fr) {rough translation}.
This year’s issue of the bulletin La Plume du Circaète is currently available – (Fr) {rough translation}. The list of contents is in English (En) this time, thanks to Ferenc and Gábor Papp:
PROTECTION AND STUDY
INTERNATIONAL
CONNECTION AND EVENTS
The following detailed article dedicated to ecological and ethological aspects of biology of Short-toed Eagle had been published 35 years ago. The text addresses a variety of topics and can be of great interest to anyone who is studying the species. It is printed on 87 pages, has many beautiful pictures and includes data on distribution and conservation of STE on the Italian Peninsula:
• Silvio BRUNO, Fabio PERCO, 1980 – Considerazioni ecologiche ed etologiche sul Biancone (Circaetus gallicus) [Ecological and ethological considerations on Short-toed Eagle] // Natura bresciana, vol. 17: pp. 124-210. – (It).
The article is available on the Museo di Scienze webpage.
Francesco Petretti reports the findings of a long term study of the feeding ecology of two populations of Short-toed Eagle in Western Central Italy /map/: Maremma Regional Park /map/ and Tolfa hills. In both areas snakes represented the bulk of the diet, but there were significant differences in the selection of prey species with a higher number of “not-conventional prey species”, e.g. mammals and toads, in Maremma Regional Park and a stronger predation on Hierophis (Zamenis) viridiflavus in Tolfa hills. The study is in progress and will be implemented in 2014.
• Francesco Petretti, 2012 – Ecologia alimentare del Biancone (Circaetus gallicus) in due aree di studio in Italia Centrale [Feeding ecology of Short-toed Eagle in two study areas in Central Italy] – (It) – presentation, 20 pages.
The presentation is published on the Stazione Romana Osservazione e Protezione Uccelli (SROPU) website. It contains tables, diagrams and beautiful photos of Short-toed Eagles and snakes.