Happy Birthday Birdman!

 Celebrating 129 years of Salim Ali 


Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali or Salim Ali, popularly known as 'The Birdman of India', has contributed a lot to Indian ornithology.

 Birth: Born on 12th November 1896 in Mumbai

Education: Salim Ali went to 'Zenana Bible and Medical Mission Girls High School' ( Queen Mary School) and attended college at Saint Xavier's College, Mumbai and Davar's College of Commerce. 

Early career: Since Salim Ali didn't have any advanced academic degrees, his early career started with a series of temporary jobs and unemployment. He started working as a guide lecturer at the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai, where he gained some knowledge in the field of ornithology, allowing him to research further. However, he couldn't get a job at the Zoological Survey of India, causing him to Pursue higher education in Germany. Later, he returned to India and secured a job as a clerk at the museum where he continued field research. 

Success: While working at the museum, Salim Ali published an important article on Weaver birds in the 1930s. This made the BNHS realise his capacity and accept his proposal of conducting systematic ornithological surveys across the country for free. With this, he became the first person to ever conduct systematic regional surveys on birds, in India. After researching and conducting multiple surveys, he published his book, 'The Book of Indian Birds', in 1941, which was quite successful. 

Contributions: Apart from conducting surveys, Salim Ali is credited with being the discoverer of the Himalayan Forest Thrush, which he helped differentiate from the Plain-backed Thrush. 

Let us all honour this amazing man and his multiple contributions to Indian ornithology,  on this special day. 




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