Salim Ali

Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali, familiar to the scientific community as ‘birdman of India’ is a renowned Indian ornithologist and naturalist. He was the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across the country and played an inevitable role in setting up the Bharatpur bird sanctuary and Ranganathittu bird sanctuary. Being orphaned at an early age Ali was raised by his uncle Amirudhin. Salim’s early interest was in books on hunting in India and he became the most interested in sport-shooting, encouraged by Amiruddin. Once 10 years old young Salim shot down a bird with his toy air gun and was curious about the strange yellowish shade on its throat. He showed the sparrow to his uncle Amiruddin and questioned him about the bird’s kind. Unable to answer, his uncle took him to W.S. Millard, the Honorary Secretary of the Bombay Natural History Society(BNHS). Millard identified it as a yellow-throated sparrow and amazed at the young boy’s unusual interest, showed him around the Society's collection of stuffed birds. In his autobiography, The Fall of a Sparrow, Ali notes the yellow-throated sparrow event as a turning point in his life, one that led him into ornithology, an unusual career choice, especially for an Indian in those days. Even at around 10 years of age, he maintained a diary and among his earliest bird notes were observations on the replacement of the males in paired hen sparrows after he shot down the males.

His early education was at St.Xaviers, but he dropped after the first year and went to Burma. As soon as Salim returned, he studied and completed a degree in zoology from St Xavier’s College and managed to get into the post of a guide at the museum of the Bombay Natural History Society. His interest in the living conditions of birds grew even more. He returned to India in 1930 after one year but his post in the museum had been removed for financial reasons. Salim Ali’s magnum opus, ‘Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan’ which he collaborated with S. Dillon Ripley, a world-famous ornithologist, describes the birds of the subcontinent, their appearance, habitat, breeding habits, migration etc. He has enriched the field of ornithology through his books ‘The Book of Indian Birds’,'Birds of Kerala' and his autobiography ‘The Fall of a Sparrow’. Silent Valley National Park, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, etc are pieces of evidence of his immense contributions in the arena of nature conservation.

He received Padma Bhushan in the category of Civilian Award in the field of Science and Engineering in 1958 and was honoured by the Government of India with Padma Vibushan in 1976. He flew away at the age of 91 but still remains as the epitome of inspiration to the young minds.