general distribution and ringing recoveries, the severe lack of such studies in 
Syria meant that this type of additional data could not be presented. A map 
showing localities mentioned in the text and a full bibliography complete the 
work. 
In conclusion no visitor to Syria should be without this book. The final word 
on Syria's ornithology it may not be, but as an introduction and a baseline 
upon which future works will doubtless be forced to build, this is a creditable 
achievement. 
Guy Kirwan 
Meininger, P.L. & Atta, G.A.M. (eds) (1994) Ornithological studies in Egyptian 
wetlands 1989-90. FORE report 94-01, WIWO report 40, Zeist, the Netherlands. 
After eight years living in Egypt I assumed that this report would reveal little 
that I did not already know. How wrong I was! Its 400 pages contain a mass 
of fascinating new information. Never before have Egypt's wetlands been 
examined in as much detail as this. The report provides a benchmark by 
which our success or failure in preserving these areas can be judged. 
An overview of the environmental status of the major wetlands makes for 
depressing reading with more threats than any site can reasonably be expected 
to withstand. Sewage from the Cairo megalopolis is pumped 150km north to 
pollute Lake Manzala - a classic 'out-of-sight, out-of-mind' solution, wetlands 
of international importance are carved up by new roads or filled with rubbish 
and while some of the bird-catching techniques rather quaintly date back to 
2300 B.C., others involve the use of binoculars, mistnets and tape lures! 
What always amazes is that Egypt, with its burgeoning 60 million human pop- 
ulation encroaching relentlessly onto these prime ornithological sites, manages 
to remain so bird rich. 
The report reveals that the total number of waders using Egyptian wetlands in 
winter and spring may exceed half a million, 53,000 Little Gulls Larus miimtus 
winter in the Nile Delta lakes. Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus ruber arrive 
from three separate breeding localities in Kazakhstan, Iran and France, whilst 
the second ever spring survey of raptor migration at Suez counted over 68,000 
birds of prey. 
The comprehensive systematic list of 296 species observed during the survey 
adds Blue-winged Teal Anas discors, Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris mclanotos and 
Brown-throated Sand Martin Riparia paludicola to the Egyptian list. More 
importantly it summarises significant changes, both positive and negative, in 
the status of many duck, wader and raptor species. 
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