. Egyptian birds for the most part seen in the Nile valley . at added interest to these places to everyone, and to some of us bird enthusiasts the livinginterest is greater than that which we can whipup for those heavy, severe, architectural achieve-ments, or wild chaotic masses of ruined masonry. Elsewhere the point of the scarcity of bird lifein the hot summer months has been spoken of,but it is also curious to note that there are justabout three to five weeks of mid-winter duringwhich there is no migratory wave seemingly goingon at all, up or down the Nile valley. No bands,great or small, o
. Egyptian birds for the most part seen in the Nile valley . at added interest to these places to everyone, and to some of us bird enthusiasts the livinginterest is greater than that which we can whipup for those heavy, severe, architectural achieve-ments, or wild chaotic masses of ruined masonry. Elsewhere the point of the scarcity of bird lifein the hot summer months has been spoken of,but it is also curious to note that there are justabout three to five weeks of mid-winter duringwhich there is no migratory wave seemingly goingon at all, up or down the Nile valley. No bands,great or small, of birds heading due north or duesouth are ever to be seen, and the remark is oftenmade on the paucity of bird life, some persons evendeclaring that it is a birdless land. That thenative birds are very small in number is true, but thetotal number of birds, and varieties of birds, thatcome for a time and pass on is very great. Thosethat live in temperate climes do, however, have thebest of the deal, as it must ever be a greater A VIEW ON THE NILE NEAR MINIEH. EGYPTIAN BIRDS 11 possession to have the birds nesting around onethan merely passing by in migrating flights, be thoseflights as amazing as they may. Birds, from what-ever reason is not certainly known, do not love theexcessively hot or cold areas as breeding-places, butdo seem to love the more moderate temperateclimes. In Great Britain the number of birds thatwill and do breed within a very small tract ofground is amazing, and Mr. Kearton tells of asmall copse in Hertfordshire in which were thenests, with eggs or young, of nine different speciesof birds, all within fifty yards of one another; andin another case, within a space of ten yards, werea tits, a flycatchers, and a wood wrens nest. InEgypt, the number of birds breeding is not large,and excepting some of the great lakes with theirmargins of shallow water and swampy reeds, thereare few places that offer any attractions for birds tonest in any numbers. In the groves of
Size: 1256px × 1990px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidcu319240, booksubjectbirds
