NICOLL'S BIRDS OF EGYPT - Published under the Authority of the Egyptian Government (1930)

Publisher's green cloth binding with gilt tiles on front panel and spine.

Author's portrait as frontispiece, 3 folding maps, 38 plates (31 coloured) after G. E. Lodge, Roland Green and H. Gronvold. Text illustrations throughout. Wide margins.

Nicoll (1880-1925), assistant director at the Zoological Gardens at Giza, was an outstanding naturalist. He intended to publish a highly detailed account on Egyptian avifauna but died before the completion of his manuscript. At the request of his widow, his notes and descriptions were carefully collected, organised, and arranged for publication by his friend Richard Meinertzhagen (1878-1967), a fellow ornithologist, British war hero, and author of the ever popular Kenya Diary.

The book first treats birds of ancient Egypt and the concept of bird protection. Some ninety species of birds in the paintings on ancient tombs are identified; it is noted that many species became extinct because of the disappearance of the papyrus thickets due to the aridity of the country. The majority of the text contains a fully annotated list of the birds of Egypt, and for each species there is a complete physical description, including plumage, as well as information on distribution, nidification and field characteristics. A full bibliography appears in one of the appendices.

First edition of the most systematic account on Egyptian birds.