Elephant bird that apparently originated from Marco Polo's account of the rukh in 1298, although he was apparently referring to an eagle-like bird strong enough to "seize an elephant with its talons". Sightings of eggs of elephant birds by sailors (e.g. text on the Fra Mauro map of 1467–69, if not attributable to ostriches) could also have been erroneously attributed to a giant raptor from Madagascar. The legend of the roc could also have originated from sightings of such a giant subfossil eagle related to the African crowned eagle, which has been described in the genus "Stephanoaetus" from Madagascar, being large enough
Bird Island, South Georgia wandering albatross were ringed, which gave startling data about their range - one bird was found in Australia . The island is currently a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and so there are no landings allowed without permission. The summit of the island, Roché Peak is named after the Englishman Anthony de la Roché who discovered South Georgia in 1675. 2008 marked the 50th anniversary of biological research on Bird Island. The island has been a station for Antarctic research since 1963, and is currently a biological research station of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) at Jordan Cove, with three