Bonelli's eagles across their wide range tend to dwell in similar habitat types. They are mostly distributed in lands hugging large bodies of water, largely the Mediterranean Sea and northern Indian ocean. Also, to a lesser extent, they may live near the coast of the Atlantic and the Pacific as well as near the Caspian sea inland. Despite often being near seas and oceans they mostly occur in fairly arid habitats and in quite sunny areas. In some parts of Asia though semi-moist habitats may be resided in. Bonelli's eagles prefer rocky areas including lower mountains and foothills with plentiful cliffs, as well as steep sided river valleys and gorges. This species is very skilled at hunting in craggy, irregular rocky terrain. Usually, extensive garrigue-type habitat such as low bushes or more substantial vegetation such as scattered trees are a common feature of residential ranges but also at times even denser woodlands. Such scrubby areas are key since they generally hold prey concentration in Mediterranean habitats. However, excessive ground cover may limit hunting success so scrub is avoided when it becomes too dense. In the Mediterranean region, forests visited by Bonelli's eagles are usually either pine forests or sclerophyll forests. Deep forests are generally avoided, however. Although Carrascal & Seoane (2009) claimed that agricultural areas are generally avoided per their analysis in Spain, Martinez-Miranzo et al. (2016) indicated that the species was showing a growing preference for agricultural arable land and other human-modified habitats, probably as prey selection has shifted more heavily to pigeons out of necessity. A similar growing preference for arables was also detected in Sicily as well. However, urban areas are generally strongly avoided both as breeding and as foraging areas by this species. Bonelli's eagles may additionally range into timbered plains or even virtually barren slopes or semi-desert, especially in areas such as Israel and India where moister valleys intersect with deserts. Juveniles may take up temporary residence over dry cultivation, small wetland areas, coastlines or surprisingly deep woodlands. In winter, these eagles may occur at times at lower elevation levels and more open habitats in semi-deserts and plains, where they can appear surprisingly at home, but often prefer wetter habitats such as large river mouths, marshlands and lakes, especially where these fall in existing home range, as prey is more likely to be concentrated in such areas. Usually Bonelli's eagles live at an elevation of or lower in Europe, to in their African Atlas mountain homes and to as high an elevation in Asia and even in residence in Bhutan. The main elevation where the species resides in the Himalayas falls between .