Bonelli's eagles frequently occur in range with multiple other eagles and competing predators. Almost certainly the most direct competitor from their European range to the Middle East is their much larger cousin, the golden eagle. Habitat preferences overlap between these two eagles with both species favoring rocky habitats, though the golden eagle regularly dwells at slightly higher elevations with alpine meadows (though is as adaptive to low elevations as the Bonelli's so long as habitat is favorable and undisturbed). Competition between the eagles has been reported in particular from Spain, in areas such as Sierra Morena. Both species excluded each other from mutual territories and had broadly overlapping food habits. However, the Bonelli's eagle took more birds and golden eagle more singularly hunted rabbits. Mean distance between nests on a plot of was found to be for 8 pairs of golden eagles and for 10 pairs of Bonelli's. The two can co-exist with sufficiently large ranges as long as they are able to maintain their own range, with the existence of trophic segregation (by size and the more avian based diet of the Bonelli's) and the lag in the breeding periods, as these natural mechanisms would allow the coexistence of both species in the mountain. Cases of golden eagles taking over prior Bonelli's eagles territories have been reported but usually golden eagles only takes up the prior Bonelli's territory when the latter vanishes due to unrelated (often anthropogenic) causes not direct competition or usurpation. A minor negative effect has been probably correlated with golden eagles not infrequently attacking and displacing juvenile and subadult Bonelli's eagles and can tend to be behaviorally dominant in keeping with its larger size. This in turn presumably hampers the ability of the Bonelli's to expand their range after declines and stabilize their population. Further east, in Israel, Bonelli's and golden eagles are competitors as well. In the dry, barren Negev desert, golden eagles nests were found apart and Bonelli's were scarce. In the Judean desert, which has more annual rainfall and more available prey, the distance between golden eagle nests averaged and the Bonelli's eagle easily outnumbered them. Apparently, the Bonelli's eagle exceptionally outcompeted its larger cousin here due to a subtle topographic variation in the habitat. In Spain, Bonelli's eagles share cliff habitats beyond golden eagles also with peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), common ravens, Eurasian eagle-owls (Bubo bubo) and three species of vulture. The eagles tend to dominate the smaller carnivorous birds in most circumstances, even the swifter peregrine. However, the still larger griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) was apparently a routine territory and nest usurper of other birds of prey, displacing golden eagles, bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus) and Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) from their nests as well as 9 out of 23 eyries built by Bonelli's eagles in the study area. Despite their prior claimed dominance over the swift falcons, at least three cases have been observed of peregrine falcons usurping Bonelli's eagle (presumably through routine harassment and dive-bombing) nests in Spain. Beyond golden eagles, peregrines and griffon vultures, tawny owls (Strix alucco) have been known to take over old Bonelli's eagle nests.