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FOREWORD
It is a great honour for me to write the foreword for a book that I know will bring pleasure to many people.
Wildlife field guides are one of the building blocks of conservation. If we don’t know what we have, we cannot
easily conserve it and as a passionate wildlife conservationist any book that increases our knowledge of the
wonders of our natural world must be applauded.
In a region that has faced so much conflict and sadness in recent years, books that help with an
appreciation of our natural heritage and wonders of our world are to be treasured.
My hope is that the book will be translated into Arabic – as was recently the case with Birds of the
Middle East, so that the knowledge it contains will be available to all our Arab friends.
Oman is a wonderful country and so rich in bird biodiversity. I hope this book inspires its resident people
to love and respect their birds, decision-makers to protect the places where they live and visitors to take
away treasured memories.
Khaled Anis Irani
Chairman
BirdLife International
Hume’s Wheatear, Al-Hajar mountains, January (Rebecca Reeves & Jim Martin)