



Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images available at The Internet Archive)









                            EGYPTIAN BIRDS

                         _IN THE SAME SERIES._

                                 EGYPT

                       PAINTED AND DESCRIBED BY

                            R. TALBOT KELLY

                    R.I., R.B.A., F.R.G.S., F.Z.S.

               _Containing 75 Full-page Illustrations in
                               Colour._

                           Price =20s.= net.
                      (Post free, price 20s. 6d.)

                             PUBLISHED BY
                A. & C. BLACK, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.


AGENTS

  AMERICA      THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
                 64 & 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK

  AUSTRALASIA  THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
                 205 FLINDERS LANE, MELBOURNE

  CANADA       THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD.
                 27 RICHMOND STREET WEST, TORONTO

  INDIA        MACMILLAN & COMPANY, LTD.
                 MACMILLAN BUILDING, BOMBAY
                 309 BOW BAZAAR STREET, CALCUTTA

[Illustration: COOT

The Sacred Lake, Karnak.]




                               EGYPTIAN
                                 BIRDS

                       FOR THE MOST PART SEEN IN
                            THE NILE VALLEY

                                  BY

                            CHARLES WHYMPER

                                LONDON
                        ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK
                                 1909

                             DEDICATED TO

                       His Highness The Khedive

                        IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION

                OF MUCH PERSONAL KINDNESS AND INTEREST

                               SHOWN TO

                              THE AUTHOR




FOREWORD


The question is so often asked, "What is the name of that bird?" that
the author has tried in plainest fashion to answer such questions. The
scientific man will find little that is new in these pages; they are not
meant for him--they are alone meant for the wayfaring man who,
travelling this ancient Egypt, wishes to learn something of the birds he
sees.

C. W.

HOUGHTON, HUNTINGDONSHIRE, 1909.




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


1. Coot                                                    _Frontispiece_

                                                             FACING PAGE

2. Birds in Mid-air                                                    1

3. A View on the Nile near Minieh                                     10

4. Griffon Vulture                                                    14

5. Egyptian Vulture                                                   20

6. Egyptian Kite                                                      30

7. Kites in Flight                                                    32

8. Barn-Owl                                                           34

9. Little Owl                                                         38

10. Egyptian Eagle Owl                                                42

11. Hoopoe                                                            46

12. Common Kingfisher                                                 50

13. Black and White Kingfisher                                        52

14. Little Green Bee-Eater                                            54

15. Common Swallow and Egyptian Swallow                               60

16. Pale Crag Swallow                                                 62

17. White Wagtail                                                     66

18. Crested Lark                                                      70

19. White-rumped Chat and Rosy Chat                                   72

20. Blue-throated Warbler                                             74

21. Reed Warbler                                                      78

22. Sparrow                                                           82

23. Desert Bullfinch or Trumpeter Finch                               86

24. Hooded Crow                                                       90

25. Egyptian Palm Doves                                               92

26. Sand-Grouse                                                       94

27. Hey's Sand-Partridge                                             100

28. Quail                                                            104

29. Cream- Courser                                           108

30. Green Plover or Lapwing                                          112

31. Spur-winged Plover                                               114

32. Black-headed Plover                                              116

33. Ringed Plover                                                    120

34. Common Snipe                                                     126

35. Painted Snipe                                                    128

36. Avocet                                                           130

37. Sacred Ibis and Papyrus                                          132

38. Cranes                                                           136

39. Spoonbills                                                       140

40. Black Stork                                                      142

41. Shoebill Stork                                                   148

42. Herons                                                           152

43. Buff-backed Heron                                                156

44. Night Heron                                                      160

45. Flamingo                                                         162

46. Studies of Gallinule                                             168

47. Egyptian Geese                                                   174

48. Pintail, Teal, and Shoveller Duck                                178

49. White Pelicans                                                   186

50. Cormorants                                                       192

51. Lesser Black-backed Gull and Black-headed Gull                   198

_Also eleven line drawings in the text._

[Illustration: BIRDS IN MID-AIR]




EGYPTIAN BIRDS


Pliny declares that it was by watching the flight of birds in general,
and of the Kite in particular, that men first conceived the idea of
steering their boats and ships with a tail or rudder, for, says he,
"these birds by the turning and steering by their tails showed in the
air what was needful to be done in the deep." Nowhere can the aerial
movements of birds be better studied than on the Nile, and as one's eye
becomes trained it is just by the varying individual methods of flight
that one is often able to identify the particular species of birds. This
is to the most casual observer self-evident in those birds that fly
close, near, or over one's head; but it is astonishing how, as the eye
gets trained, even a faint speck high up in mid-air can be absolutely
identified by some peculiarity of shape and movement. On Plate 2 are
some half-dozen different birds depicted as in flight, to assist the
reader to identify the birds he will frequently see.

No. 1 is the ordinary Kite of Egypt. Seen as soon as one lands at
Alexandria or Port Said: it is with us everywhere. Its most distinctive
characteristics are the forked shape of its tail, and its familiarity
with man, the latter leading it to have no sort of fear of flying near
one, so near that its yellow beak and ever-restless eye, as it turns its
head this way or that, can easily be seen, whilst its tail, moving in
sympathy, sweeps it round to right or left.

No. 2 is the Kestrel, or Windhover of England. As this hawk is not a
devourer of carrion, but feeds on mice, lizards, beetles, and other
living things, it does not usually come so near the habitations of men,
and is rarely seen in the centre of cities, but on the outskirts of
towns and up the country it is common enough. When seen hovering with
its body hanging in mid-air, with its wings rapidly beating above its
head as shown, there should be no difficulty in recognising it. Again,
when flying low its rich brown-red plumage and sharp-pointed wings
should be noted, and if seen dashing into some cleft of ruined masonry
or rocky cliff-side it can often be identified by the incessant,
penetrating, squeaky call of the young in the nest, for by the time most
visitors are in the country, _i.e._ March and April, it has its young
nearly fully fledged.

No. 3 is a Peregrine Falcon. In general shape this is typical of all
the falcons, and gives a characteristic attitude in its rushing downward
swoop. The head is blunt and sunk into the shoulders, the wings are
stiff, rigid, pointed and powerful, the tail straight and firm.

Nos. 4 and 5 are Vultures shown flying farther away from the spectator's
eye, and consequently on a smaller scale. The black and white of the
adult Egyptian Vulture, No. 4, is such a distinctive characteristic that
recognition is easy, but in the case of the young bird the plumage is
dirty brown and grey with faint dark streaks on it, and at that stage
might be confused with Griffon Vultures, if it were not for its smaller
size. In flying, the way it tucks its head in so that only its bill
seems visible, and the very small tail in proportion to the wing area,
are the outstanding peculiarities of this, and indeed all Vultures.

No. 5 shows a distant group of Griffons, purposely placed at a distance,
as on the small space of a page, if they were brought as near the eye as
the other birds, they would completely cover the whole space, for they
have an enormous span of wing. Note how small the tail is, and how the
head is practically invisible.

Nos. 6 and 7 are of different orders of birds altogether, one being a
Stork, the other the Heron. The Storks fly with outstretched neck,
whilst all of the great family of Herons fly with their neck doubled up
and the head rather tucked back towards the shoulders.

If these seven characteristic diagrammatic pictures of birds are once
really learnt, it will enable the most ordinary observer not only to
know those particular six birds, but the whole families, meaning many
scores of birds of which these are chosen as representatives. The
eyesight of some may need help in the form of a good field-glass. What
is a good field-glass each individual must discover for him or herself,
since the good glass is the one that really suits the sight of its
owner. Some of the most noted glasses of to-day are not, anyhow to
myself, of as much use as an old-fashioned one that I have had for
years, and with which I am able _at once_ to "get on" to the object I
wish to observe. This is a most important detail, because birds are
rarely still or quiet for long. When flying, this is particularly the
case, and the simpler the glass and its mechanism the quicker you are on
the object,--and this when, perhaps, you have only a matter of seconds
for your observation is of first importance. As I do not wish either to
embark on a libel action on the one side, or act as an advertiser of any
maker, not even of the maker of my own glass, I praise or blame none,
but suggest with all earnestness to every one who desires to really
enjoy the study of bird life on the Nile or in their own country,
without fail to get a glass that suits them, and which they can handle
with lightning speed. I dwell on this because I have met so many having
most expensive modern glasses who say they cannot find any pleasure in
using them on birds, and I generally find that it is owing to the small
field that their glasses cover. Sometimes these glasses are of quite
extraordinary power, so that I have heard a man declare he could see a
fly crawling over a carved face on the tip-top of some far-away temple,
but that type of glass is not what is wanted for rough and ready quick
field work, and it is of no more use than the three-feet long telescope
still beloved by the Scotch stalkers. Birds rarely if ever allow time
for one to lie down on one's back, and with help of stout stick and the
top of knee make a firm stand on which to place the glass and get the
range. Over twenty-five years ago I wrote on "Nature through a
Field-glass,"[1] and although since then one has had to alter one's
views on so many different points, I do not think I would wish to alter
one single word in the claim made for the value of this aid to Nature
study. So many birds are such small objects, that ten or fifteen paces
away they are mere spots, and very difficult to recognise, as the detail
of their plumage at that distance is lost, and all you can say is, that
it is some small bird, but with a glass you can have it brought up to
your very eye, you can see the arrangement of the masses of the
feathers, and note even the ever lifting and falling of its little
crest, as it goes creeping and stealthily gliding through the twigs and
bushes after its insect food.

 [1] In _The Art Journal_.

Egypt certainly is singularly fortunate in that birds here are far tamer
than we find them at home, and so admit of a closer inspection; but even
so, I should have been, times without number, utterly at a loss to
exactly identify certain birds if it were not for my trusty glasses.
There are some occasions where, owing to the extraordinary tameness of
birds, no glasses are needed, and I recommend to all bird enthusiasts
the ground within the areas under the control of the Antiquities
Department. No guns are allowed there, as they are up and down the Nile,
and the birds know it. One of my favourite places of observation was at
the Sacred Lake at Karnac. By the courtesy of Mr. Weigall, Chief
Inspector of Antiquities, Upper Egypt, I was allowed to sleep in a
disused building by the water-side, and by that means enjoyed
opportunities, which fall to the lot of few, of studying bird life from
midnight to early morning, and it is astonishing the number of birds
that foregather to that quiet spot. Practically all night through there
were sounds of birds coming or going at intervals. The calling of Coots
one to another were the commonest sounds during the darkest hours; but
at about 3 A.M., when I thought I could discern a little light, I would
distinctly hear the "scarpe scarpe" cry of Snipe. A little later the
hooting of the Eagle Owl, whom I knew had his nest up on the top of one
of the end columns of the great hall, and then gradually from this side,
then from that, came an ever-increasing series of calls and pipings, and
one could make out flocks of Duck disappearing over the ridge of sand
and broken-up masses of masonry. Later, shadowy forms of Greenshank or
Plover showed as they went paddling by some faintly lighted-up pool,
till at last the sun was up, and crested Larks were running round the
banks fearlessly, and blue-throated warblers were hopping about the few
bushes at the edge, and ever and anon flitting down to the ground and
back again to the leafy shelter.

The question is asked and asked, but no very distinct answer comes, why
are the birds so tame in Egypt? I am at a loss to know myself, for the
land teems with foxes, jackals, kites, vultures, eagles, falcons, and
hawks without end, all with an eye to business, ever circling round
ready to devour any unprotected thing they can lay claws upon, and yet
this seemingly utter fearlessness of all these mild-natured, defenceless
little birds. Further, here in Egypt are perhaps more "demon boys" than
are to be found elsewhere, and I hold firmly with the ancient sage, who
said "that of all savage beasts the boy is the worst," so that the
tameness of some of Egypt's birds is one more mystery of this land of
mysteries.

In the following pages I have almost entirely spoken of the particular
birds pictured in the illustrations. I am quite prepared for the
question, however, "But why did you not include such and such a bird?"
and my defence can only be the old one of the difficulty of settling
various person's ideas of what should be considered the best
representative list of anything--whether it be birds, books, or pretty
women. It must also be remembered that Egypt proper--the area alone
treated upon in these pages--begins at Alexandria and ends at Assoan, a
stretch of country of about 525 miles, whilst the breadth may be
anything from fifty miles to less than one. From that area our selection
has had to be mainly confined, and it has meant excluding a certain
number of very beautiful and interesting forms.

Bird lovers should remember that when the, at first, seemingly rather
extortionate demand of 120 piastres is made, before they are given the
card which admits them to the temples, tombs, and areas under the
control of the Antiquities Department, they are, in a very important
way, really helping on the preservation of birds, for, as already has
been said, on no ground under the control of the Department are birds
allowed to be shot, and as these spots are the very ones in all Egypt
most visited, it is very necessary, as amongst the thousands of tourists
that are made familiar with the fact that wild duck, snipe, and waders
were very tame at these places, there would always be some
unsportsmanlike guns, who would seize the opportunity of going to those
very places. Then no longer would the hooting of owls be heard in the
ruins, no swallows nesting in the rock-hewn tombs, and no coot and
wildfowl would ever be seen on the small sheets of water or sacred lakes
that adjoin the temples. That all these birds are there means a very
great added interest to these places to every one, and to some of us
bird enthusiasts the living interest is greater than that which we can
whip up for those heavy, severe, architectural achievements, or wild
chaotic masses of ruined masonry.

Elsewhere the point of the scarcity of bird life in the hot summer
months has been spoken of, but it is also curious to note that there are
just about three to five weeks of mid-winter during which there is no
migratory wave seemingly going on at all, up or down the Nile valley. No
bands, great or small, of birds heading due north or due south are ever
to be seen, and the remark is often made on the paucity of bird life,
some persons even declaring that it is "a birdless land." That the
native birds are very small in number is true, but the total number of
birds, and varieties of birds, that come for a time and pass on is very
great. Those that live in temperate climes do, however, have the best of
the deal, as it must ever be a greater

[Illustration: A VIEW ON THE NILE NEAR MINIEH]

possession to have the birds nesting around one than merely passing
by in migrating flights, be those flights as amazing as they may. Birds,
from whatever reason is not certainly known, do not love the excessively
hot or cold areas as breeding-places, but do seem to love the more
moderate temperate climes. In Great Britain the number of birds that
will and do breed within a very small tract of ground is amazing, and
Mr. Kearton