about his biography and contributions

1. WELCOM
E

2. PRACTICUM
Presented By,
Asha
Cherian
Natural
Science
Auxilium
EDU 104.18: UNDERSTANDING THE DISCIPLINE
OF NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION

4. SALIM ALI (1896-1987)
 Name :- Salim Moizuddin Abdul Ali.
 Birth :- 12 November 1896.
 Born in :- Khetwadi, Mumbai.
 Parents :- Moizuddin and Zeenat-un-nissa.
 Guardians :- Amiruddin Tyabji and Hamida Begum.
 Nationality :- Indian.
 Profession:-Ornithologist and Naturalist.
 Awards :- Padma bhushan, Padma Vibhushan
 Known as :- "Birdman of India" / Grand old man of India.
 Died :- 20 June 1987, Mumbai .

5. CHILDHOOD
• He was born into a Sulaimani Bohra Muslim family on 12
November 1896, in Bombay (now Mumbai).
• He was the nineth and the youngest child of Moizuddin and Zeenat-
un-nissa.
• His father died when Salim was just a year old, and his mother too
expired after a couple of years. The orphaned children were then
raised by a childless uncle and aunt.

6. • When he was ten years old, Salim shot a strange looking bird with
his toy air gun.
• Unable to identify the bird, he showed it to his uncle Amiruddin
who introduced the boy to W. S. Millard, secretary of the Bombay
Natural History Society (BNHS).
• Millard was impressed by the boy’s curiosity and kindled his
interest in ornithology by offering to train him.

7. INTERESTS
 Salim Ali have a passion about studying birds
in detail.
 He had interests in playing cricket and
hunting.
 Fascinated by motorcycles having Sunbeam,
Harley-Davidsons (three models), and others.
 Ali was not very interested in the systematic
and taxonomy of birds.
 His interest was in studying "living bird in
their natural environment."

8. EDUCATION
• Primary education : Bible and Medical Mission Girls High School at
Girgaum.
• Matriculation: Bombay University (1913).
• Left studies and went to Burma.
• Returned to India (1917) he decided to continue formal studies.
• Commercial law and accountancy at Davar's College of Commerce.
• B.Sc Zoology at St. Xavier's College. (under Prof. J.P.Mullan and Prof.
E. Blatter).
• Special Training: Berlin University Zoological Museum, Prof. Ervin
Stresemann.

9. FIRST STEP
• First prize: Our Animal Friends.
• Interested in books on hunting.
• Encouraged by foster-father Amiruddin Tyabji.
• Yellow-throated Sparrow (Petroia xanthocollis) event (1908) as the
turning point.
• Salim was introduced to the serious study of birds by W. S. Millard,
secretary of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
• Journey of collection and study begins.

10. FIRST NOTE ON BIRDS BEHAVIOUR
• First note Salim Ali made concerned to a
hunting experience at Khetwadi stable.
• Observation made was on a female
sparrow.
• First behavioural study.
• After 60 year it was published in
Newsletter for Birdwatchers more or less
in its original form.

11. MARRIED LIFE
• December 1918, Salim Ali married
Tehmina, a learned scholar from England.
• Tehmina help him to improve his English
prose.
• Bird watcher and his script editor .

12. • Salim Ali desperately wanted the
ornithologist's position which was
open at the Zoological Survey of India
but could not get it due to the lack of a
formal university degree.
• In 1926, he took assignment as guide
lecturer at Prince of Wales Museum
in Bombay
• Dealing with blind students of the Victoria
Jubilee School for the Blind.
CAREER

13. • After two years, he took a study leave and went to Germany where he
worked under Professor Erwin Stresemann at the Berlin Zoological
Museum.
• He gained useful experience in Berlin and made acquaintance with
many of the major German ornithologists of the time including
Bernhard Rensch, Oskar Heinroth and Ernst Mayr.
• He also gained experience in bird ringing at the Heligoland Bird
Observatory.

14. SINGLE EVENT WITH GREATEST
PLEASURE
• His work on nesting habit of baya
weavers (Ploceus megarhynchus salimali),
done after his return from Germany
1931.
• He and his wife moved to Kihim, a
coastal village near Mumbai.
• Study the breeding of the Baya
Weaver and discovered their mating
system of sequential polygamy.

15. • Later commentators have suggested that this study was in the
tradition of the Mughal naturalists that Salim Ali admired and wrote
about in three part series on the Mughal emperors as naturalists.
• Eventually, he received an opportunity to conduct systematic bird
surveys of the princely states that included Hyderabad, Cochin,
Travancore, Gwalior, Indore and Bhopal with the sponsorship of the
rulers of those states.
• He was aided in his surveys by Hugh Whistler.

16. SALIM ALI’S WIFE TEHMINA
• In 1939, Tehmina died suddenly after
minor surgery.
• Her death was one of the greatest tragic
experiences of Salim Ali, but, perhaps it drove
him deeper into the world of birds.
• The Black-rumped Flameback
Woodpecker, first collected in Kerala by Ali,
is named after his wife, Tehmina.- Dinopium
benghalense tehminae. Dinopium benghalense
tehminae.

17. LITERARY CAREER
Salim Ali was a prominent writer, he penned number of books, scientific
studies, and research papers.
Books
 Handbook of the Birds of India & Pakistan (1964-1974).
 Common Indian Birds (1968).
 Hamare Parichit Pakshee (1969).
 Bird Study in India (1979).
 The Great Indian Bustard (1982).
 A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent with Dillon
Ripley, Bombay: OUP (1983)
 The Fall of a Sparrow (1985).
 The Book of Indian Birds (1996).

18. THE BOOK OF INDIAN BIRDS
• A wise old Chinese proverb “One picture is
worth 10,000 words”
• It includes 56 coloured plates depicting 296
species.
• Birds described in term of size,
distribution, habits, food and nesting.
• It is considered as the landmark book on
Indian ornithology.

19. TERMINOLOGY OF BIRD’S PARTS AND
PLUMAGE

20. Dillon Ripley & Salim Ali
S.Dillon Ripley& SalimAli
Dillon Ripley (Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution from 1964 to 1984) is a close friend of
Salim Ali.
They are joint authors of “Handbook of the Birds
of India and Pakistan" published in 1964 - 1974.
This book has 10 volumes describing more then
2000 birds species and sub-species of Indian
subcontinent.
This book laid the foundation of Indian bird life.
It covered the birds of the subcontinent, their
appearance, habitat, breeding habits, migration, etc.

21. Under museum diagnosis the measurements
given for wing, bill, tarsus and tail by this
standard method.
• Wing :- Carpal joint to longest feather.
• Bill :-By help of divider with one end
at culmen and other at tip of beak.
• Tarsus:- Knee joint to base of middle toe.
• Tail :- End of body to tip of longest
feather.
MEASUREMENTS

22. THE FALL OF A SPARROW
• Salim record his evolution from a young
school boy to a celebrated ornithologist.
• It contains memorable bits about Salim’s
life, his influences, his travels and his
activities.
• The journey in search of some bird,
Afghanistan, Flamingo city, and Bharatpur.
• The entertainment value of bird
watching.

23. SYSTEMATIC BIRD SURVEYS
• The places where he did Surveys
1.Burma(Myanmar)
2.DehraDun(Uttarakhand)
3.Travancore(Kerela)
4.Bahawalpur(Pakistan)
5.Eastern Himalayan
6.Afganisthan
7.Tibet
8.Kutch
Wrote Regional Guides of many
regions.

24. MALABAR TROGON
•Harpactes fasciatus
•Most colourful bird identified and studied
by Salim Ali.
•Described as a "bird with a play of
colours".
•Generally silent.
• Trogon is known for its musical calls.

25. GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD
• Scientific name : Ardeotis nigriceps
• Salim Ali strongly pushed the case of the
Great Indian Bustard to be choosed as the
national bird of India.
• In 1981, Dr. Salim Ali assessed the
deteriorating status of the great Indian
bustard.
• Book “The Great Indian Bustard” in 1982.
• The Bombay Natural History Society
embarked on a five-year project to study the
ecology and distribution of the Great Indian
Bustard.

26. BIRDS MIGRATION
•Birds migration is a fascinating subject to Salim Ali.
•Bharatpur sanctuary is the focal point of BNHS for
migration studies which Salim Ali directed during
his tenure.
•Nearly 250 species are recorded there including
Siberian crane, duck, geese and other birds.
•Every winter the Siberians cranes, and thousands of
ducks, geese and other birds come to Bharatpur
escape the bitter cold of Siberia and central Asia,
from here many migrant dispersed to other part of
India.
Dr.Salim Ali at
Bharatpur sanctuary
.

27. METHODOLOGY
 The best way to study the birds migration
is by ringing the birds.
 Collection.
 Particulars of each birds are recoded.
 Marked with aluminium rings.
 The serial number is informed to BNHS.
 When ever the bird is found dead or alive
the finder communicates the details to the
society.
 In this way the bird route and destination
are determined.

28. MIGRATION STUDYOFAnas crecca
•Commonly known as: Teal
•Study Area: Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary
•Financial assistance: WHO Method: Ringing and recovery.
•Areas of Recovery: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on
one side and Russian Territories on other.
OBSERVATIONS
•They cross Himalaya during migratory journey.
•Teals are common visitor of Indian subcontinent from August to
April (Ali and Ripley, 1974)

29. RECOVERY OF BIRDS
 Number of birds recovered in Russian territories and India
had Striking difference.
 More birds were recovered from Russian territories.
REASONS:
 Illiteracy and unawareness.
 Keeping rings as mementos of duck shooting days.
 Delay in postal services.
 Illegal shooting without license.
 Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

30. IN SEARCH OF BIRDS
• In January 1974, Ali visited Great Rann
of Kutch to discover breeding ground of
lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor).
• Some 70 km on camel back over
slippery wet mud.
• Found few lesser flamingo among herds
of greater flamingo.
• Suspection has been proved when found
with chicks and nests.
• First authentic record of their breeding in
Indian sub-continent.
.

31. • Ali was also interested in the historical aspects of ornithology in
India.
• In a series of articles, among his first publications, he examined
the contributions to natural-history of the Mughal emperors.
• In the 1971 Sunder Lal Hora memorial lecture and the 1978
Azad Memorial Lecture he spoke of the history and importance
of bird study in India.

32. MOMENTS WITH BOMBAY NATURAL
HISTORY SOCIETY
• Salim Ali ensured the survival of BNHS by
seeking help from Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Dr. Salim Ali was the Society's first Indian
Honorary Secretary and also served as its
President.
• Conservation of nature, primarily biological
diversity, through actions, based on research,
education and awareness.

33. OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS
• He helped in the establishment of an economic ornithology unit within
the Indian Council for Agricultural Research in the mid-1960s.
• He was also able to obtain funding for migration studies through a
project to study the Kyasanur forest disease, an arthropod-borne virus
that appeared to have similarities to a Siberian tick-borne disease.
• Ali also headed a BNHS project to reduce bird hits at Indian airfields.

34. • He also attempted a citizen science project to study house sparrows in
1963 through Indian birdwatchers subscribed to the Newsletter for
Birdwatchers.
• Ali influenced the designation of the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary ,
the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary and in decisions that saved
the Silent Valley National Park.
• One of Ali's later interventions at Bharatpur involved the exclusion of
cattle and graziers from the sanctuary and this was to prove costly as
it resulted in ecological changes that led to a decline in the waterbirds.
• Some historians have noted that the approach to conservation used by
Salim Ali and the BNHS followed an undemocratic process.

35. • Ali was a frequent visitor to The Doon School where he was an
engaging and persuasive advocate of ornithology to successive
generations of pupils.
• As a consequence, he was considered to be part of the Dosco
fraternity and became one of the very few people to be made an
honorary member of The Doon School Old Boys Society.

36. • Salim not only researched about birds, but also contributed to the
arena of protection of nature.
• For his extraordinary efforts, he was given an international award of
INR 5 lakhs, but he donated all the money to Bombay Natural History
Society.
• He was instrumental in promoting the development of ornithology in
india and was a major influence in conservation related issues in post-
independence india.
• This genius man died at the age of 90 on June 20, 1987 after a
prolonged battle with prostate cancer.
LATER LIFE AND DEATH

37. AWARDS
• 1953 : Awarded with Joy Gobinda Law Gold Medal by Asiatic
Society of Bengal.
• 1958 : Received doctorate degree from Aligarh Muslim University.
• 1958 : Honored with Padmabhushan Award.
• 1970 : Bestowed with Sunder Lal Hora Memorial Medal.
• 1973 : Received honorary doctorate from Delhi University
• 1976 : Conferred upon with Padma Vibhushan Award.
• 1978 : Received honorary doctorate from Andhra University.
• 1986 : Received honorary doctorate from Kerala Agriculture
University.

38. MEMORIALS
• SACON (Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural science ) was
established at Coimbatore by the Government of India in 1990.
• Pondicherry University established the Salim Ali School of Ecology
and Environmental Sciences.
• The location of the BNHS in Bombay was renamed to "Dr. Salim Ali
Chowk".
• In 1972, Kitti Thonglongya discovered a misidentified specimen in
the collection of the BNHS and described a new species that he
called Latidens salimalii, considered one of the world's rarest bats,
and the only species in the genus Latidens.

39. • The subspecies of the rock bush quail(Perdicula argoondah
salimalii) and the eastern population of Finn's weaver (Ploceus
megarhynchus salimalii) were named after him
by Whistler and Abdulali respectively.
• A subspecies of the Black-rumped flameback woodpecker
(Dinopium benghalense tehminae) was named after his wife,
Tehmina, by Whistler and Kinnear.
• Salim Ali's swift (Apus salimalii) originally described as a
population of Apus pacificus was recognised as a full species in 2011
while Zoothera salimalii, an undescribed population within
the Zoothera mollissima complex, was named after him in 2016.

40. SALIM ALI - THE NATIONAL FIGURE
• Salim Ali National Park in Srinagar, Kashmir (City Forest
National Park) :- Mangrove shrubberies comprise of the main
flora in the Salim Ali National Park, which happens to be haven
for bird watchers and tourists alike. Here, visitors are likely to
sight diverse varieties of avian species that fly in from near and
far………
• Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary in Panjim, Goa:- It is an estuarine
mangrove habitat, which is declared as the bird sanctuary. The
smallest bird sanctuary in India, it is spread over an area of 1.8
sq.km

41. • The Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary was the first bird sanctuary in
Kerala. Salim Ali described this sanctuary as the richest bird
habitat on peninsular India.
• SACON (Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural science)
in Tamil Nadu.
• Salim Ali Bird Interpretation Centre at Kriyarkutty , Kerala.
• A . K Mehrotra in his illustrated History of Indian English
Literature, praises him as “Salim is a sort of writer, whose
accounts of people are no less interesting than those of
birds”.

42. Dr. Salim Ali National Wildlife Fellowship
Award
National Wildlife Fellowship Award for Research/Experimental projects
on avian wildlife (1995) by Ministry of Environment and Forest.
A commemorate to Salim Ali and Inspiration for younger generations
aimed at conservation and development of the rich wildlife heritage of our
country.
The fellowship amount is Rs. 20000/- per month and the contingency
amount from Rs. 18000/- per annum to Rs. 1,00,000/- per annum, for a
period of two years.

43. • In case, the Awardee is an employee, he/she is entitled to avail
the Fellowship awards along with the salary benefits and other
allowances.
• Only Indian citizens are eligible for the awards.
• The Dr. Salim Ali National Wildlife Fellowship Award is given in
an odd numbered year.

44. SALIM ALI VIEW ON BIRD
SANCTURIES
“People expect a bird sanctuary like a glorified zoo, they
don’t realize that a sanctuary is merely a conserved
natural habitat where birds will come if assured of
adequatefood, protection and nestingfacilities”

45. CONCLUSION
• The Grand Old Man of Indian Ornithology, Salim Ali scaled new
heights in the field of ornithology and, with his matchless dedication, left
behind works of epic dimensions.
• He left his family business under the influence of curiosity for nature and
started journey with a pair of binocular, a notebook, a pencil and an
ample stock of patience and dedication.
• Today if one can identify or differentiate between two birds, it is all
because his accurately illustrated reader friendly birds books.
• He contributed enormously to the development of Indian Ornithology.