A fossil representative of the Circaetus genus was discovered in South-Western Bulgaria /map/. The birds had already lived in ancient Europe more than 7 millions of years ago; although, their origin from Africa is suggested as very probable. The paper is available on a website of the journal Acta zoologica bulgarica:
• Z. Boev, 2012 – Circaetus rhodopensis sp. n. (Aves: Accipitriformes) from the Late Miocene of Hadzhidimovo (SW Bulgaria) // Acta zool. bulg., 64 (1): pp. 5-12. – 
(En).