مصر | Egypt | Égypte

SUB-REGION
North Africa

SIZE
1,001,450 km² (12th largest country in Africa)

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Mostly Palaearctic avifauna, with a strong migratory component
Approximately 470 recorded species, mostly non-breeding migrants

Birds best found in Egypt but occurring more widely (BT)
White-eyed Gull
Mourning Wheatear

Birds best found in two territories of the ABC region but occurring in more (B2)
African Green Bee-eater (cleopatra)
White-crowned Wheatear

Proposed splits not yet accepted by IOC
Cyrenaic Partridge (barbata)
North African Buzzard (cirtensis)
Barbary Falcon (pelegrinoides)
Desert Grey Shrike (elegans)
Arabian Grey Shrike (aucheri)
Levant Scrub Warbler (inquieta)
Mangrove Reed Warbler (avicenniae)

MAIN HABITATS
Desert, riverine habitats of the Nile Valley

BIRD AREAS
34 Important Bird Areas

BIRDING SITES
Ain Sokhna and Galala Bird Observatory for soaring bird migration, especially White Stork, Egyptian Vulture, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Black Kite and Common Buzzard (vulpinus), also Black Stork, Great White Pelican, European Honey Buzzard, Griffon Vulture, Greater Spotted Eagle, Booted Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Levant Sparrowhawk and Long-legged Buzzard (cirtensis)
Hurghada and Hamata/Qulaan Islands for breeding seabirds and waterbirds including Greater Sand Plover, Terek Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Crab-plover, Bridled Tern, Saunders’s Tern, Caspian Tern, White-cheeked Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Greater Crested Tern, Sooty Gull, White-eyed Gull, Red-billed Tropicbird, Brown Booby, Eurasian Spoonbill (archeri), Western Reef Heron (schistacea), Striated Heron (brevipes), Goliath Heron and Osprey
Wadi Lahami for Yellow Bittern
Wadi el Gamal National Park for desert species including Desert Owl
Gebel Elba for Nubian Nightjar, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Namaqua Dove, Bearded Vulture, Lappet-faced Vulture (nubicus), Bateleur, Verreaux’s Eagle, Pallid Scops Owl (brucei), Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Great Grey Shrike (aucheri), Arabian Warbler (blanfordi), Fulvous Babbler (acaciae), Blackstart (lypura), Abyssinian Sunbird, Sudan Golden Sparrow, African Silverbill and Long-billed Pipit (nivescens)
Sinai Peninsula for Chukar Partridge (sinaica), Asian Houbara, Crowned Sandgrouse (vastitas), Golden Eagle, Little Owl (lilith), Arabian Green Bee-eater, Syrian Woodpecker, Fan-tailed Raven, Great Tit (terraesanctae), White-spectacled Bulbul, Arabian Babbler, Tristram’s Starling, Blackstart (melanura), Palestine Sunbird, Sinai Rosefinch, Syrian Serin and Striolated Bunting
Also Gabal el Zayt, Ras Shukeir, El Gouna, Wadi Degla, Fayoum Oasis, Luxor and Abu Simbel

TIMING (Oct, Mar–Apr)
Best in spring, after the rains and when most birds breed (Mar–May)
Passage migrants are numerous Oct and Mar, the latter especially good for raptors
Avoid the hottest time of the year (May–Aug)

RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa
Collins Bird Guide

Field guides
Collins Bird Guide by Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney & Dan Zetterström (2022)
The Birds of Egypt and the Middle East by Richard Hoath (2021)
Birds of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East: a Photographic Guide by Frédéric Jiguet & Aurélien Audevard (2017)
A Photographic Guide to Birds of Egypt and the Middle East by David M Cottridge & Richard Porter (2001)

Sounds
The Bird Songs of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East by Andreas Schulze & Karl-Heinz Dingler

Site guides
Finding Birds in Egypt by Dave Gosney (2011)
Where to Watch Birds in Wadi el-Gemal National Park and Neighboring Areas by Sherif Baha el Din (2009)
Egypt in The Good Bird Guide: a Species-by-Species Guide to Finding Europe’s Best Birds by Keith Marsh (2005)
Where to Watch Birds in World Cities by Paul Milne (2006) covers sites in and around Cairo
Birding in Egypt by Peter L Meininger & Wim C Mullié (1981)

Further reading
Checklist of the Birds of Egypt by the Egyptian Ornithological Rarities Committee (2019)
Birds of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East: an Annotated Checklist by Dominic Mitchell (2017)
The Birds of Egypt edited by Steven M Goodman & Peter L Meininger (1989)
Egypt by Sherif M Baha el Din in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
International Waterbird Census: Egypt 2009-2018 by Wed Abdou Latif Ibrahim (2021)
The Breeding Birds of the Northern Red Sea Islands, Egypt by Andrew Grieve & Linda Millington (1999)
Pharaohs’ Birds: a Guide to Ancient and Present-Day Birds in Egypt by John Miles (1998)
Common Birds of Egypt by Bertel Bruun & Sherif Baha el Din (1994)
Ornithological Studies in Egyptian Wetlands 1989/90 edited by P L Meininger & G A M Atta (1994)
Bottleneck Areas for Migratory Birds in the Mediterranean Region: an Assessment of the Problems and Recommendations for Action by Rob G Bijlsma (1987)
Survey of Waterbirds on Egyptian Wetlands, Autumn 1981 by C A Bennet, R G Bijlsma & R Stouthamer (1982)
Articles in Sandgrouse, Bull. ABC, Courser (Ornithological Society of Egypt), etc.

Websites
Wadi Al-Hitan/Whale Valley and St Catherine Area – UNESCO World Heritage List

Blogs
Birding in Egypt
The Lady Birder of Egypt

Facebook groups
Birding Egypt is the place to share your birding photos, news and experiences across Egypt and to participate in building awareness and promoting conservation of Egypt’s avian heritage
Egypt Wildlife Conservation (EWC) is a group aiming to protect and conserve wildlife of Egypt and discuss the ideas of research in the field of wildlife conservation and all events in this field

ORGANISATIONS

Nature Conservation Egypt (NCE) is the BirdLife Partner in Egypt

The Egyptian Ornithological Rarities Committee (EORC) adjudicates rare bird records in Egypt

The BirdLife International UNDP/GEF Migratory Soaring Birds Project works in Egypt

Other bird or conservation organisations active in Egypt include –
Wild Phoenix
Lake Qarun Site Support Group
HEPCA (Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association)
Giza Zoo
Arab Federation for Wildlife Protection (AFWP)
Tour du Valat