At Doñana National Park, Spain, we compared the prevalence of Staphylococcus spp. infections in the Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti) in 66 nestlings handled with bare hands and in 46 nestlings handled with gloved hands, 1986 to 1993. We detected staphylococcal infections in 30 (45%) of 66 chicks handled without gloves, and in two (4%) of 46 chicks handled with gloves.