Sálim Ali, often called 'the bird man of India', was among our best-known ornithologists and conservationists. His work as scientist, teacher and writer introduced millions of Indians to the joys of the natural world.


Sálim Ali was born in 1896. His parents passed away soon after, and Sálim and his siblings went to live with relatives in Bombay. Bombay at the time was surrounded by forests, and full of wildlife. Fascinated by birds, Sálim wanted to be a naturalist.

But being a naturalist was not a job many people did in those days. Unable to find work he liked, he decided to invent his own job, surveying Indian birds. Armed with binoculars, he travelled all over the country, painstakingly observing, listening to, studying and recording the birds in each region - deserts, rainforests, thorny scrub, mountains, and wetlands.

Sálim Ali wrote many books on birds, including the vast 12-volume Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, and the classic Book of Indian Birds, which bring to life the rich and diverse bird life of the Indian subcontinent. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1958 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1976.

This new title from Amar Chitra Katha tells the story of one of India's most passionate and erudite naturalists. - from Amzon