A
Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East
RF Porter, S Christensen and
P Schiermacker-Hansen
T&AD Poyser, London 1996. ISBN
0 -85661-176-3, hardback, 460pp + xv, £29.95
I knew this new field guide was coming, but having
already used the – in my opinion- slightly disappointing Birds of the Middle
East and North Africa by two of the same authors ( Porter and Christensen)
in addition to P A D Hollon and artist Ian Willis (Poyser, London 1988,
ISBN 0-85661-047-X) I wasn’t holding my breath. Hence, I was not prepared
for this new field guide. It is simply one of the best bird guides to a
specific region that I have ever seen.
In contrast with the 1988 book, the new guide
covers the Middle East only, from Turkey and Iran in the north to Yemen
in the south, including Socotra Island and Cyprus. Naturally, all of Arabia
is covered. It deals with all birds in this region, and I mean all of them,
even birds that have been recorded only once in the region are included,
a staggering 722 species in all. Species are listed in the traditional
systematic order.
A short and concise introduction describing the
scope of the book, is followed by the main body of the book which comprises
112 plates by artists A Birch, J Gale, M Langman and B Small and detailed
species accounts. The plates are superb and wherever relevant, illustrations
show different races, sexes, age variations, with many birds shown in flight.
Curiously almost all birds face right and fly to the right, but this is,
of course, done to aid comparison between similar species. It is nice to
see, though, that some woodpeckers can sometimes face left! Ample place
is given to each species although a few plates such as the ones with wagtails
and wheatear look a bit crowded, but they almost had to be with so many
races and variations depicted. Facing each plate is a breeding map of the
region’s breeding birds and quite comprehensives notes on status and habitat
are given here as well. The maps are quite large and very clear for a field
guide. My only regret at all with this new guide is that wintering ranges
and migratory routes are not shown. This information can, however, be found
in the status notes, but a quick glance at a map is often more helpful
to the birdwatcher.
The species accounts section contain detailed
information on plumage, with the main identification characters shown in
italics, and notes on voice. Size is recorded in this section, but would
have been helpful next to the plates. However, as each species is assigned
a number, reference between the plates and the text is very quick. With
so may species dealt with in what is still a handy book, not every aspect
of each species could be covered. This is mainly an identification guide.
No information is given on habits, food or breeding behaviour.
The field guide concludes with a helpful list
of references and suggestions for further reading with a breakdown for
each country, a complete species list and comprehensive indices of English
and scientific names.
One nice advantage of such a comprehensive guide
is that even new additions to individual country lists may very well already
be covered by the book and the guide will not become outdated so quickly.
By comparisons between neighbouring countries, it also suggests which new
species one may reasonably expect in the future.
In summary this is a superb field guide. The authors,
artists, publishers and anyone involved with its publication are to be
congratulated. It is a must for any birdwatcher living or visiting this
region and anyone with an interest in Middle Eastern birds. In fact, I
think I will need two copies, one for the bookshelf and one for the car.
Buy it!
Jens Eriksen
Fauna
of Saudi Arabia Vol 15 (1996)
Editors: Friedhelm Krupp &
Volker Mahnert
Published by the National Commission
for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
and Pro Entomologica, c/0 Natural History Museum, Basle, Switzerland.
Hardback, 418pp + vii, SFr. 159.
The contents of volume 15 in this comprehensive
and authoritative series of books providing detailed descriptions of the
fauna of Saudi Arabia includes papers on the Arabian arachnids, centipedes,
crustaceans, insects echinoderms, fishes, and birds. Another important
contribution to scientific information on the taxonomy, faunistics, zoogeography
and ecology of the region’s wildlife, this volume is well- illustrated
with numerous drawings, photographs and colour plates and is, as usual,
superbly edited and produced.
A
Marine Wildlife Sanctuary for the Arabian Gulf
Environmental Research and Conservation
Following the 1991 Gulf War Oil Spill
Editors: Friedhelm Krupp,
Abdulaziz Abuzinada and Iyad A. Nader
Published by the European Commission, Brussels, National Commission
for Wildlife Conservation and Development and Senckenbergische Naturforschende
Gesellschaft
ISBN 9960-614-03-4 (NCWCD, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
ISBN 3-929907-37-2 (SNG, Germany)
Hardback, 505pp.
As the introduction to this book points out, before
the Gulf War, and the ensuing environmental crisis, the Arabian Gulf was
one of the lesser-known seas. However, all that has changed with more scientific
studies published in the intervening years than in the entire period before
the war. Regional research institutes and environmental protection agencies
initiated extensive research programmes supported by international scientific
missions. This publication, for its part, presents the scientific results
of five years of continuous research by the international, multidiscplinary
team of scientists who were based in Jubail and who were working together
to create the first ever Marine Habitat and Wildlife Sanctuary in the GCC
region. Topics covered by the book include background information on the
Gulf War oil spill and creation of the Jubail Marine Wildlife Sacntuary;
hydracarbon chemistry, microbiology and oil spill response; effects of
the oil spill on the coastal and marine environment; biological diversity,
ecology and conservation of key taxa; fisheries, socio-economics and education.
The abstracts of each paper are given in both
English and Arabic and the handsome volume is liberally illustrated with
colour plates, black and white drawings, as well as a clearly-present pull-out
map depicting the geo-ecological units of Al Jubail Marine Wildlife Sanctuary.
This volume provides an invaluable reference source
for the international scientific community as a whole as well as providing
much useful background information for decision-makers in the field of
marine conservation.
Africa:
A Natural History
Chris and Tilde Stuart
Swan Hill Press, 101 Longden Road,
Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY3 9 EB.
ISBN 1 85310 737 9, hardback 170pp, £24.95
Prolific authors and wildlife experts Chris and
Tilde Stuart document in clear text and striking colour photographs the
natural history of the African continent. The seven major African habitats
are explored: from savanna, home to much of the continent’s game herds,
to dryland, including the vast Saharan desert; from forest, both temperate
and tropical to highland, encompassing the famous Mountains of the Moon;
from Cape heathland which supports over 8580 species of flowering plant;
to the contintent’s great freshwater lakes and river systems; and finally
the coastal zone, including mangrove stands and the unsurpassed coral reefs
of the Red Sea. Descriptions of the flora and fauna of these diverse habitats
accompany each chapter, however, because of the huge scope of the book,
much detail is omitted. Although primarily celebrating the continents wondrous
natural beauty, the Stuarts also discuss the fragility of the African habitats
and discuss the effectiveness of conservation measures across the continent.
This book can provide readers of all ages with
an authoritative overview of the African natural world.
Africa’s
Vanishing Wildlife
Chris and Tilde Stuart
Swan Hill Press, 101 Longden Road,
Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY3 9 EB.
ISBN 1853108170., hardback, 198pp, £29.95.
As founders of the African Carnivore Research
Programme and the African Arabian Wildlife Research Centre, Chris and Tilde
Stuart are well-equipped to tackle the subject of African wildlife’s fight
for survival against the steady encroachment of Man. Recognizing that wildlife
consevation in Africa is at a critical stage, they have set out to document
the problems faced by the continent’s endangered, vulnerable, rare and
declining species. The authors examine the plight of each animal group
as a whole, as well as discussing individual species within each group.
Maps provide a humbling record of past and present distribution whilst
the authors’ beautiful photographs celebrate African wildlife at its best,
underlining their plea to the human component of the animal world to halt
the habitat destruction and degradation which is impacting hugely on the
wildlife of this ‘fascinating, depressing, diverse and damaged continent’.
This well-produced book is a must for readers
who wish to look beyond the pretty pictures to reach an understanding of
the problems facing the animal world and the commitment needed to tackle
them.
The Phoenix
Sponsored and published by the National
Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development, Michael Jennings
in number 13 (December 1996) of the Phoenix provides up to date information
on Arabia’s breeding birds, as well as summary reports of ABBA (Atlas of
Breeding Birds of Arabia) and other surveys in Saudi Arabia.
Tribulus
Contents of vol 6.2 of the bi-lingual
Emirates Natural History Group Bulletin range from reports of excavation
on Balghelam Island and Sharjah to information on the red data list for
birds of the UAE and the Sheikh Zayed Falcon Release Project, as well as
proving a useful index to volumes 1-5 of Tribulus.
Abu
Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey Project
This occasional newsletter from the ADIAS
, P.O. Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, UAE (No. 1, 17 November 1996) gives a run-down
of the projects proposed for the winter season, information on the fifth
Late Antiquity and Early Islam Workshop in which the pre-Islamic Nestorian
church and monastery found by the Project on Sir Bani Yas Island was recognized
by the conference as ‘a very major new discovery that has brought Byzantine
and early Islamic studies into a very new and unfamiliar area’.
Birdlife
of Yemen (Tayur Al Yeman)
Published by the Environmental Protection
Council in Yemen, together with cooperation of OSME and BirdLife International,
this little book has been written by R.F.Porter and R.P.Martins based upon
considerable fieldwork carried out in Yemen. Colour illustrations by M.Langman,
and line drawings by R.A.Hume, provide clear descriptions for the common
birds seen in Yemen, in addition to all the endemics. The booklet, published
in Arabic and aimed at schools in Yemen, will be an extremely useful tool
in environmental education in Yemen.
Sandgrouse
Volume 18(2) is an elegantly designed
and produced edition of OSME’s journal. Features include a review of Middle
East Birding and Conservation Organisations; an article about Ruppell’s
weaver in Yemen and one about the birds of Barr al-Hikman in Oman. The
more scientific section contains a number of papers on birds in Jordan:
one on raptors, one on the avifauna of Azraq, one on the Alpine accentor,
a discussion on whether lappet-faced vultures once bred there, and first
records of the Alpine accentor and pine bunting. There is also a news section
and one for book reviews.
This is a really useful addition to publications
on Arabia’s wildlife.
Shark News
Issue number 8 of Shark News, the Newsletter
of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, published in December 1996, contains
articles on CITES, news of the activities of the Shark Specialist Group,
a discussion on the Red List assessments for sharks and rays, and an article
regarding shark fishery management. A review article on what has been happening
to sawfish is a reminder of the extreme pressures that many elasmobranchs
suffer. Research worker Ed McManus (email contact: [email protected])
is undertaking research on Red Sea and Gulf of Aden sharks and rays and
would be grateful for any data on size, sex and species distribution. The
editors of Shark News are also seeking contacts in Arabia, both with individuals
and with research organisations. The address for contact is: Sarah Fowler,
The Nature Conservation Bureau Ltd., 36 Kingfisher Court, Hambridge Road,
Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5SJ, UK. Fax (44) (0) 1635550230. Email is : [email protected].