In the paper we describe two cases of eastern imperial eagle breeding in the former nests of greater spotted eagle and white-tailed eagle observed in the Tatarstan Republic, Russia. In both cases, eastern imperial eagles occupied non-favourable habitats they never used before - a vast alder forest in the wetlands and an island in a reservoir. The possible reasons that made the eagles expand their breeding ranges in the Volga region ofRussia are discussed in this paper