Nature

Ancient Egypt’s temples and tombs encompass images of exotic animals, birds, and plants that are no longer found in the country today, while the fossils of dinosaurs and ancient whales reveal an extraordinary legacy from prehistoric times. Egypt’s environment has changed dramatically over millennia, and the species that have survived have made their homes in diverse terrain: deserts and mountains, the Nile Valley and sea coasts, temple ruins, and even city skies and streets. Today, Egypt’s vibrant habitats host amazing cat, canine, and bird species, exotic residents like crocodiles and bats, numerous reptiles, butterflies, and insects, and domesticated animals like the camel. Tracing the history of Egypt’s extinct species reveals an unusual timeline of geological transformations and climate change. The natural history of Egypt is often overlooked, yet invaluable to understanding Egyptology, as well as the country’s future as the environment continues to drastically change. This colorful book combines the artwork and text of four of the AUC Press Nature Foldouts: Egypt’s Flora & Fauna, Birds of the Nile Valley, Ancient Egypt’s Wildlife, and Egypt’s Prehistoric Fauna. Including striking full-color illustrations, photographs, diagrams and maps, and information from leading scientific experts, this book is a great introduction to Egypt’s unique natural history.

The essential field guide to the birds of Egypt and the Middle East by a leading naturalist, stunningly illustrated with full-color photography

This compact, incisive photographic identification guide to 280 bird species in Egypt and the Middle East shows the region’s most commonly seen, unique, and endemic species, and is perfect for resident and visitor alike. Each bird species is illustrated with a high-quality full-color photograph, accompanied by a detailed description, which includes nomenclature, size, distribution, habits, and habitat. The user-friendly introduction covers biogeography, migration, bird topography, and a glossary. Also included is an all-important checklist of all of the birds of Egypt encompassing, for each species, its common and scientific name as well as its status in each country and its global International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) status.

Reptiles and amphibians are among Egypt’s most successful wildlife, found in almost every habitat in the country, from homes to fields and the desert itself. For the first time, A Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Egypt provides concise, reliable, and up-to-date information on all of Egypt’s principal species, with detailed material on their taxonomy, identification, natural history, and ecology. Based on fifteen years of fieldwork, this guide is a valuable tool for experts and amateurs alike in the identification, study, and conservation of these fascinating animals. With an easy-to-use key, high-quality maps, and over 100 color illustrations, this field guide covers 110 species—including tortoises and turtles, lizards, snakes, and crocodiles—found in Egypt. Each entry contains concise information about the species, including English, Latin, and Arabic names; world and Egypt distribution; distinguishing features; habitat and ecology; behavior; and conservation status. Included too are line drawings to illustrate key identification features and differences between species. With a comprehensive bibliography for further research, the guide supplies the accuracy and scientific rigor that scientists look for, while providing an accessible approach for generalists and amateurs. For biologists, nature lovers, and anyone interested in Egypt’s rich natural heritage, A Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Egypt is an ideal reference tool.

Besides its archaeological treasures, Egypt is also home to an exotic and mysterious wealth of wildlife, hiding at times in its temples and tombs, its deserts and oases. The Nile nourishes an array of habitats, flora, and fauna often overlooked by the archaeologically curious tourist. This full-color foldout guide introduces an exciting array of animals and plants, from river wetland residents to desert survivors. Water-resistant and compact, it is the perfect travel companion, filled with beautiful illustrations, comprehensive text, diagrams, and maps. Includes: - Map of Egypt and opportune locations to see wildlife - Palms & other common native and non-native plants - Mammal species: carnivores, insectivores, rodents - Common reptiles & amphibians - Insects & invertebrates - Freshwater fish of the Nile About the series: The AUC Press Nature Foldout series combine, in beautifully practical form, a wealth of information written by leading experts with striking full-color illustrations on the flora and fauna of Egypt and the Middle East. Designed for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers, as well as for indoor use, the foldouts come in an easily foldable format, at once compact, waterproof, and portable, making them durable and convenient travel guides. Size is 23 x 8.5 in. / 58.5 x 21.5 cm unfolded.

Carved reverently in the walls of the temples and tombs of ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs and sculpted reliefs depict lions and jackals, hawks and owls, cobras and scarabs. This unique new guide explores the hieroglyphs and fauna of the ancient world—species that were idolized and mummified, and those that have since become extinct. From the date palm and the blue lotus to the griffon vulture and the hoopoe, the plants and animals on ancient Egyptian tomb walls spring to life in this lively and useful guide. Water-resistant and compact, filled with gorgeous illustrations and photographs, comprehensive text, diagrams, and maps, this foldout guide is the perfect travel companion. Includes: - 55 species - Depictions of hieroglyphs with their true animal counterparts - Map of Egypt’s most sacred animal temples About the series: The AUC Press Nature Foldout series combine, in beautifully practical form, a wealth of information written by leading experts with striking full-color illustrations on the flora and fauna of Egypt and the Middle East. Designed for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers, as well as for indoor use, the foldouts come in an easily foldable format, at once compact, waterproof, and portable, making them durable and convenient travel guides. Size is 23 x 8.5 in. / 58.5 x 21.5 cm unfolded.

At the World Heritage site of Wadi al-Hitan, or the Valley of the Whales, in Egypt’s Western Desert, an ecotour in the desert reveals a site of invaluable prehistoric fossils, from whales and rays to sea turtles and crocodiles. Forty million years ago, this region in Egypt was submerged under the ocean, with a coastline of mangrove swamps. Yet while this site reveals incredible steps in the evolution of some species, it also proves the extraordinary perfection of others: crocodiles, sea turtles, and even bats have changed very little over the course of millions of years! Today, their descendants can still be found in Egypt, struggling to survive a much greater challenge than they faced with the dinosaurs: people. Water-resistant and compact, filled with colorful illustrations and photographs, comprehensive text, diagrams, and maps, this foldout guide is the perfect travel companion through geological time. Includes: - Chart of prehistoric animals and their Egyptian contemporaries, including whales, crocodiles, dugongs, sea turtles, fruit bats, and lizards - Map of Egypt today with contrasting image of the continent 40 million years ago About the series: The AUC Press Nature Foldout series combine, in beautifully practical form, a wealth of information written by leading experts with striking full-color illustrations on the flora and fauna of Egypt and the Middle East. Designed for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers, as well as for indoor use, the foldouts come in an easily foldable format, at once compact, waterproof, and portable, making them durable and convenient travel guides. Size is 23 x 8.5 in. / 58.5 x 21.5 cm unfolded.

Stunning photographs make this guide to the seashells of Egypt’s Red Sea coast a delight for scientists and beachcombers alike. Biologist Mary Lyn Rusmore-Villaume offers succinct descriptions of over five hundred species, indicating geographic range, size, color, and other details. The book is organized by taxonomy, divided between gastropods and bivalves, and each species is illustrated with one or more photographs for easy identification, all taken especially for this book by the author using shells from her own collection. All the shells most people are likely to see are included here, as well as many rare specimens (including an entirely new species discovered by the author). The species covered come from all regions of Egypt bordering the Red Sea, including the Gulf of Suez, South Sinai, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the mainland coast from Hurghada to Shalatin.
As the only guide to Egypt’s Red Sea shells, this is an invaluable reference for anyone interested in the Red Sea and its rich biodiversity. Copiously illustrated and comprehensive in its approach, Seashells of the Egyptian Red Sea represents a unique contribution to the scientific knowledge of the marine fauna of this branch of the Indo-Pacific region.

The vegetation in Wadi El Gemal National Park in Egypt’s Eastern Desert is more diverse than might first be expected, but even more surprising is the relationship that the desert dwellers continue to have with the plant life in their habitat, despite the increasing modernization of their world. As a ranger in the park, Tamer Mahmoud quickly realized the importance of surveying, identifying, and documenting the indigenous plants, and recording the information he compiled from interviews with the local community about how they use the plants for food, healing, animal fodder, and fuel. The result is this detailed and colorful guide, which includes photographs of each plant, the scientific name and local name in Arabic and English, and information on location, distribution, uses, and ecology. A glossary, bibliography, visitors’ information section and distribution maps make this a comprehensive reference work that will interest visitors, scientists, anyone interested in the flora of arid areas, and even anthropologists.

Sustainable development and environmental change have become two of the watchwords of the new century. But what do they mean for ordinary people living in some of the harshest environments in the world where survival is the driving force? This book sets out to examine these issues and how they affect, and are affected by, Bedouin communities living in the arid areas of the Nubian Desert in southeastern Egypt. Written by a joint Egyptian, Russian, and British research team, this book seeks to examine how the Bedouin of this area have coped with the environmental changes brought about after the construction of the Aswan High Dam and resulting formation of Lake Nasser. After documenting the nature of these changes, the authors show the practical and strategic ways in which the Bedouin have responded by adapting both their use of environmental resources and the social and economic dimensions of their community. Bedouins by the Lake argues that people in these communities are active agents of change and must not be seen as passive victims. For them, sustainable development and environmental change are not abstract academic debates, but real-life, everyday issues around which they must organize their lives.

More than 100 of Egypt's most common bird species are illustrated in color and described in both English and Arabic in this fully revised edition of a favorite book. An introduction provides notes on habitats, migration, conservation, and where to watch birds, and there is a complete checklist of the 430 birds of Egypt, with English, scientific, and Arabic names.

Tourists are not the only foreigners who flock to Egypt to find solace in Egypt’s eternal sunlight and indulge in the lush abundance of the Nile River—migrating birds from the north come too, and visitors luxuriating on one of Egypt’s gorgeous beaches, touring historic monuments, or enjoying a cruise down the Nile are bound to encounter a wide variety of bird life. Water-resistant and compact, this handy guide to the resident and seasonal birds of Egypt is a perfect reference for birdwatchers keen and casual. Includes: - 50 Migrating and resident species of the Nile Valley - Ancient Egypt’s Seasons: Akhet (Autumn) – Inundations Peret (Winter) – Growth Shomu (Summer) – Harvest - Map listing birdwatching and wintering/breeding locations About the series: The AUC Press Nature Foldout series combine, in beautifully practical form, a wealth of information written by leading experts with striking full-color illustrations on the flora and fauna of Egypt and the Middle East. Designed for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers, as well as for indoor use, the foldouts come in an easily foldable format, at once compact, waterproof, and portable, making them durable and convenient travel guides. Size is 23 x 8.5 in. / 58.5 x 21.5 cm unfolded.