protracted even in years where no breeding occurs. They often subsequently use a new nest in the same general area in consecutive breeding seasons, usually not more than away, and may reuse a nest they built previously. There is much variation in this regard, from 1 nest being used in 5 consecutive years to no nest reusage in 3 recorded years. Nests built by bateleurs tend to be favored by lanner falcons (Falco biarmicus), probably in part because the eagle's young are fledged by July–August when lanners tend to lay; however 1 nestling was persistently mobbed by a lanner during its last week at the nest. In ranching country in Zimbabwe, nests are spaced apart. In Mozambique, nesting spacing was found to be about . Eggs and development of young In this species, only one egg is ever laid. Their eggs are quite large for the size of the bird, being broadly oval and usually an unspotted chalky white but sometimes with a few red stains or indistinct reddish markings, which may be cosmetic from feeding and defecating of the parents. The bateleur’s egg is quite similar in size and coloration to most snake eagles, which also generally lay a single egg. A bateleur egg may measure from in height, with an average of in a sample of 24 and in a sample of 50, by in diameter, with an average of in 24 and in 50. The eggs are comparable in size to those of martial and crowned eagles (Stephanoaetus cornatus), eagles of easily up to twice the body size of a bateleur. The female bateleur normally incubates alone, though rarely males are seen to do so as well. The female is fed by the male but takes spells off in which she probably feeds on her own kills and the male may take over incubation, although reports of instances where he may do the majority of incubation are probably inaccurate. While the elastic breeding season suggests an indifference to climatic concerns relative to the wet season and dry season, the bateleur is usually considered an eagle that lays earlier in the year than overlapping eagles. The incubation stage lasts for 52 to 59 days, averaging about 55 days, and may the longest of any African raptor. Reports of incubation lasting for only 42–43 days are probably erroneous. The hatchling is highly altricial and very feeble at first, perhaps