birding...

The Middle-east is not a continent in the recognised sense of the term but more or less an area which seems not to be fully part of Europe, Asia or Africa. Moreover, no-one seems to agree on which nations make up the grouping. Some think Turkey and Cyprus are part of it whilst others place these countries in Europe. Some count Egypt in although it is clearly part of Africa... we do npt pronounce an opinion just cover all the area I have seen refered to as the middle east and duplicate some entries which I cover in other continents.

The governments of some middle-eastern countries are at the forefront of good conservation and have put much effort in to preserving bird life in their countries despite the lack of interest of many local people. Some of those nations could afford to create very interesting web-sites. Few do.

However, search the web and one is likely to come across many references to Falconry which has many devotees in the Middle East. It is sad that this drives a trade in illegally taken birds rather than those bred in captivity and, in some places, is also responsible for the endangerment of other bird species such as bustards etc. Nevertheless, there is hope as more and more countries recognise the need to consere wildlife and their wild places.