Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758).

Length 12-14 cm. Easily identified by its brilliant colors: black and white head, red face, black and yellow on the wing, bold whitish rump, and black tail. The Goldfinch is found in gardens, orchards, and farmland where there are weeds, especially thistles. It can be seen in small flocks during winter and is notable not only for its colorful appearance but also for its lovely springtime song. It is a granivorous bird and eats seeds and also small invertebrates. The nest is a neat compact cup of roots, grass, and cobwebs, lined with plant down, wool, hair, and occasionally feathers. The 4-6 eggs are incubated by the female only. This bird is a common breeding resident and winter visitor. In Egypt, it is found in the Nile Valley and Delta, several Western Desert oases, and in northeastern Sinai.

Oriolus oriolus (Linnaeus, 1758).

Length 24-25 cm. The male is bright yellow with black wings and a strong red bill. Female and juvenile are a less conspicuous yellowish green in color. The Golden Oriole inhabits large trees, plantations, orchards, and oases where it feeds on insects and berries. It feeds mainly at the tops of the trees, picking its food from the foliage; it may also catch insects in flight or feed on the ground among herbs. In Egypt, it is a common passage migrant and can be seen in the Western and Eastern Deserts, the Nile Valley and Delta, or Sinai.

Plegadis falcinellus (Linnaeus, 1766).

Length 60 cm. The all-dark plumage and long down-curved bill distinguish this bird. It is seasonally dimorphic: the breeding adult has the body plumage glossed with green or purple. In winter, adults have the head and underparts brown flecked with whitish grey; upper parts are mixed brown and glossy green. The Glossy Ibis breeds and spends the winter in shallow, freshwater lakes and marshes with dense swamp vegetation. It is seen in small groups around the swamps feeding on insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and locusts as well as small reptiles, frogs, and fish and probing with the long bill into the mud to catch its prey. The nest is a compact platform of twigs or reeds, lined with leaves; the 3-4 eggs are incubated for 20-23 days. In Egypt, this is an uncommon migrant, winter visitor, and a rare breeder and is found in the Nile Valley and Delta, along the Suez Canal and in South Sinai.

Aythya nyroca (Güldenstädt, 1770).

Length 38-42 cm. A diving duck, the male of which is dark reddish-brown above with a white belly, white under-tail coverts, and white eye. The female is duller with an inconspicuous white spot on the throat. In flight, there is a conspicuous white wing bar on both sexes. The Ferruginous Duck is found in shallow pools and marshes with abundant emergent and shoreline vegetation. The diet consists of green parts of aquatic plants and grass, leaves, stems, roots, and seeds; occasionally aquatic invertebrates, insects, amphibians, and small fish are taken. It is a threatened species; at lower risk and is an uncommon winter visitor to the Nile Valley and Delta.

Cisticola juncidis (Rafinesque, 1810).

Length 10 cm. This is a tiny warbler, essentially buffy brown above with paler area around the eye and pale on the throat. The black and white tipped tail feathers are fanned out in flight. The Fan-tailed Warbler lives in cultivated cropland including wheat fields and pasture, often near wetlands. It feeds on insects mainly small grasshoppers. The loud rattle-like call is very distinctive and is delivered during its high undulating flight; this tiny bird is often heard before it is seen. It is monogamous and solitary and nests close to the ground. The nest is an elongated pear or bottle-shaped structure with the entrance at or near the top, made of grasses bound together with cobwebs and lined with more cobwebs, flowers, and animal hair. Four to six eggs are incubated for 12 or 13 days. In Egypt, this bird is a common breeding resident in the Nile Valley and Delta and in some Western Desert oases.

Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758).

Length 50-56 cm. The plumage of this variable bird is generally dark brown above, paler below; the tail is barred, sometimes faintly. The Eurasian Buzzard’s preferred habitat is the edges of cultivation, pastures, or oases; during migration, it is seen over deserts and mountains. It is essentially a hunter of small mammals, particularly hares and rodents such as rats and mice. However, it sometimes takes invertebrates like crickets, locusts, and earthworms and almost always captures prey on the ground. This bird is a common migrant and rare winter visitor to the Eastern and Western Deserts, Sinai, and the Nile Valley and Delta.

Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758.

Length 28-31 cm. A very colorful mainly blue-green bird with a chestnut crown and mantle, also some chestnut on the wings; the throat and lower back are yellow and there is a distinct black eyestripe and necklace. Central tail feathers are somewhat projecting. The Eurasian Bee-eater is found on cultivated land with scattered trees and also in shrubby semi-desert. The diet consists largely of bees, wasps, and dragonflies. If it catches a stinging bee or wasp, it rubs the insect’s tail on the perch to remove the sting and swallow it. Pairs usually stay together for life, often in well-defined colonies and nest colonially; nest burrows are in flat or sloping sandy ground but usually in earthen banks. The nest-digging process takes 10-20 days. The seven eggs are incubated for 10-20 days and the naked and blind chicks, which are later covered in spiky grey feather sheaths, are tended by both parents. This is a very common passage migrant and a rare localized breeder. On migration, it can be seen and heard in large, noisy flocks. It is found in the Eastern and Western Deserts and Sinai and breeds in northeast Sinai and Rafah.

Neophron percnopterus (Linnaeus, 1758).

Length 60-70 cm. A small distinctive black and white vulture with a yellow face, slender yellow bill, shaggy ruff, and short greyish legs. The juvenile is dark brown becoming whiter with each successive molt until it reaches adulthood at five years. The Egyptian Vulture inhabits mountainous desert and semi-desert and feeds mainly on carrion. It is known to drop stones from a height onto ostrich eggs to crack them so it can feed on the contents. This bird is solitary and monogamous; it nests on cliffs where the nest is usually lined abundantly with wool, hair, and remains of food but occasionally with scarcely any material. The two eggs are incubated for 42 days by both parents. Sexual maturity is attained at four to five years. This bird is a common migrant and a resident breeder in the Eastern Desert and Sinai.Eastern Desert and Sinai.

Alopochen aegyptiaca (Linnaeus, 1766).

Length 72 cm. A large bird that is characterized by a brown line from the top of the bill to the brown eye patch; the back of the head is brownish and there is a variable brown collar and a brown patch on the greyish-brown abdomen. It has a greyish buff head and neck, black tail and rump, and white upper wing coverts; bill and legs are deep pink. The sexes are alike but the juvenile lacks the eye patch and brown patch on the abdomen; the white color on the upper wing is duller. The Egyptian Goose inhabits wetlands, especially lakes and rivers with sandy banks. It feeds on grasses, seeds, leaves, and stems of plants and also eats some invertebrates. It nests on the ground in vegetation or among rocks on hillsides. The nest is constructed of reeds, leaves, and grass and the bottom is lined. The goose is territorial and sometimes remains in solitary pairs outside the breeding season. Five to twelve eggs are incubated for 28-30 days by the female only. This bird is a common resident of Egypt that was formerly found throughout the Nile Valley, but is now restricted largely to Lake Nasser and wanders northward in winter.

Cursorius cursor (Latham, 1787).

Length 23 cm. A slender sandy-buff wader that is notable for its striking black eyestripe and white supercilium, which both curve round to the pale grey nape; forehead and crown are pale rufous; the slightly downward curved bill is black and the legs are creamy white. The Cream-colored Courser lives in open stony or sandy desert or semi-desert with low sparse vegetation and feeds on insects, including beetles, grasshoppers, and ants, as well as seeds and small vertebrates, such as lizards. It feeds by running about on the ground and stopping to pick up prey, which is swallowed whole, even large insects of up to 8 cm long. Sometimes it catches locusts in flight and may dig for food with its bill. The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground and the two eggs are incubated for 19 days by both parents. Sexual maturity is reached at one year old. The Courser is an uncommon migrant breeder found in the Eastern and Western Deserts and Sinai. The numbers of this bird are declining due to habitat destruction and hunting.