Birds are one of the best known and most
highly valued elements of the natural world,
comprising more than eleven thousand
different species, an extraordinary variety,
ranging from hummingbirds to ostriches,
from penguins to eagles. Each species is
unique, in its appearance, in its habits and
in where it is found. Some occur in huge
numbers and others are represented by only
a handful of remaining individuals; some are
relatively sedentary, with individuals spending
their entire lives in an area of a few hectares,
while others undertake extraordinary annual
migrations, covering literally half the world
Because of the location of Egypt on a major fly-
way, millions of fall Eurasian migratory birds,
exhausted from their long flight over the arid
landscape of the Levant and the Sinai, or from their
journey over the Mediterranean Sea, yearly join in-
digenous species in the wetlands of the Nile Delta.1
Such a spectacle could not fail to leave a lasting im-
pression on the ancient Egyptians, whose survival de-
pended on their observation skills and their under-
standing of the environment. A wealth of evidence, in
the form of iconography, written material, and faunal
remains uncovered near the sites of ancient hunting
camps in the Eastern Sahara and in settlements in the
Nile Valley and Western Desert oases, indicates that
ancient Egyptians capitalized on the providential and
cyclical passage of large flocks of birds. They endeav-
ored to capture them; they reared them in captivity
and incorporated them in varied facets of daily life.
Whether as food for the living or as offerings to the
deceased and to the many gods of the Egyptian pan-
theon, birds remained an intrinsic part of the lives of
all ancient Egyptians.
the capture of birds
As early as the late Palaeolithic period, the inhab-
itants of the Nile Valley were taking full advantage
of the resources provided by the fauna surrounding
them. In particular, the predictable arrival of millions
of birds twice a year during fall and spring migrations
appeared as a reliable source of protein, which was
complemented by the large number of catfish travel-
ing with the Nile flood, as well as the wild cattle and
hartebeests grazing alongside the river (Gautier 1987,
p. 431). Already 15,000 years ago, hunters manifested
their interest in the avifauna by carving depictions
of waterfowl in the company of herds of wild cattle
on the cliffs overlooking the Nile River.