Subbarao  and Bhaskar on Birds

Birds & Birdwatching in India by Gopinath Subbarao and M.K.Bhaskar; Published by the Authors ;Pages 114 ; Price Rs 1100/-

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With more than 8700 living species, birds have colonised all parts of the world and are found in virtually all habitats: from the icy shores of Antartica to the hottest parts of the Tropics,and from mountains,deserts,plains and forests to open oceans and densely urbanised areas .

Birds range in size from the tiny bee Hummingbird of Cuba with an overall length including bill and tail of 6 cm(2.5 in) to the wandering Albatross with a wing span of 3.5 mt(11.5 ft),and the trumpeter Swan which may weigh upto 17 kg(38 lb).The flightless Ostrich,the largest of all living birds stands almost 2.4 mt(8 ft) high and weighs upto 160 kg( 350 lb).

Before we embark on a study of “Birds and Birdwatching” it is appropriate to recall the first sloka of Mahabharata----

नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम् ।

देवीं सरस्वतीं व्यासं ततो जयमुदीरयेत् ।।

“Bowing to Lord Narayana, to the best among the men Arjuna, to Devi Saraswathi, and to Sage Vyasa must we pay our respectful and exalted Obeisance first, and then we must read Jayam-Mahabharata.”

Likewise before attempting a review of the latest book it would be in order to recall the glorious contribution of three “Bhishma Pitamahas of Birdwatching in India”. These are E.P.Gee, Salim Ali and M.Krishnan.

Gee was a non-official member of the Indian Board for Wildlife, the apex body that advises the Union Government on wildlife matters along with Salim Ali and M.Krishnan. Nehru wrote a splendid Foreword to Gee's book “The Wild Life of India”. In it Nehru said, “Life would become very dull and colourless if it did not have these magnificent animals and birds to look at and to play with.”

Gee took a passionate interest in the wildlife of India and its conservation and conducted several surveys on endangered species.

Sálim Ali referred to as the "Birdman of India" was the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and wrote several books on birds that popularised ornithology.He created the Bharatpur bird sanctuary and prevented the destruction of what is now the Silent Valley National Park. Along with Sidney Ripley he wrote the landmark ten volume "Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan". Several species of birds, a couple of bird sanctuaries and institutions have been named after him.

Krishnan’s “ Of Birds and Bird song” is a masterpiece of great nature writing, natural history and wit at its best, by one of India's greatest naturalists ever. In this book, many of them are brought to vivid life by one of the country’s greatest naturalists and nature writers. M. Krishnan makes precise observations and original insights into over a hundred species of birds in a variety of habitats.

M. Krishnan wrote steadily and inspiringly for well over 35 years. A pioneer in the field of black & white photography, Krishnan's contribution to wildlife photography and writing on natural history in India has no parallel.

The authors of the book under review— Shri.Gopinath Subbarao and M.K.Bhaskar are technically qualified---one an Engineer and the other an Architect. They have dedicated their lives to Ornithology. Both are members of the Bombay Natural History Society. They have already written a book-- “Birds of India and basics of birdwatching”.

The book under review includes descriptions of 160 bird species---their natural history,essential data on flora and fauna,historical background,maps,weather conditions and a whole host of other valuable material.The authors have provided tips for budding birdwatchers.

The volume is an easy to comprehend guide to the art and science of birdwatching. It is neatly divided into four compact parts.

Part One furnishes the basics of birdwatching—the benefits one can derive from such an activity.It helps with material on when and where to watch—tips to identify favourite spots.Also provided are details of the type of equipment that is essential and helpful. step—by—step approach to achieve success in our efforts is provided lucidly.There is a valuable piece on the ethics of birdwatching.

The next part imparts vital details of the physical parts of a bird’s body. Attractively presented are beaks, legs & toes of birds and how they are put to use. A unique feature of birds—viz.,Feathers are explained very clearly with suitable diagrams and photographs.

The next part gives profiles of 160 birds.Each profile is accompanied by a lovely foto of the adult bird with both the common and scientific names.A very useful tip is that to enable the novice to mentally visualise the size of the bid—a dark silhouette of each bird is shown in relative size comparison to the shaded silhouettes of two birds all of us are familiar with—the crow and the sparrow.

The description of birds gives complete physical characteristics including the colour on different parts of the body,shape and colour of the beaks,the features of tail,crest,legs,etc. The distribution and habitat reveals the range and habitat where the birds are normally found. Some of the birds in the book are long distance migrants and the authors give data on their arduous journeys and how they reach India. 

The authors have provided tips for budding birdwatchers.The volume is an easy to comprehend guide to the art and science of birdwatching. 

Seventeen of the most popular national parks and sanctuaries are covered in considerable detail.Historic landmarks is a goldmine of info on the flora and fauna of the country.

Absolutely useful info is given of visiting hours of parks,latitude,longitude,altitude,etc.

The book is a cornucopia of invaluable information on birds and as pointed out in his “Foreword” by Shri.V.S Santhanam, Director of Bird Studies & Natural History,Rishi Valley, “ the book is a welcome addition to the growing literature on birds--- and will stimulate more people to take to outdoor pursuits and create more friends for birds in the country”

Tit Bits

Satyajit Ray and Salim Ali

In 1962,Satyajit Ray directed the film  “Kanchenjunga”. Based on his first original screenplay, it was his first film in colour. The film tells of an upper-class family spending an afternoon in Darjeeling, a picturesque hill town in West Bengal. They try to arrange the engagement of their youngest daughter to a highly paid engineer educated in London. Ray had first conceived shooting the film in a large mansion, but later decided to film it in the famous hill town. He used the many shades of light and mist to reflect the tension in the drama.

Several long walks and long conversations form the main body of the film .The hero –veteran Bengali actor Chhabi Biswas-- goes for frequent walks as is wont of those who visit Darjeeling. He was carrying a book in his hand. Even as Ray was shooting the film an old man sporting a beard jutted in and Ray had him removed by his assistants. But the man persisted and had to be shooed away twice or thrice by Subrata Mitra—the Cinematographer.

Ray decided to enquire himself and accosted that old man—“ Why are you butting in so many times—not allowing continuing my filming?”.

Innocently the old man said,” I am eager to know what that man is doing with that book in his hand?”.

Ray was angry—and asked him—“Why do you want to know? He may carry any book he likes”.

The old man replied-“ What is he doing with that particular book? He is carrying my book. I am Salim Ali”.

Ray was overjoyed. He shook hands with him— “ I know about you but I have not seen you. !.”

Salim Ali too had not seen Ray earlier.

The two became good friends later.

KPS Menon and Salim Ali

KPS Menon's wife Anujee has a pet theory that if a man is inordinately fond of any object he will begin to look like that object himself. This is certainly true of one of our friends, Salim Ali, the bird lover and the author of “The Book Of Indian Birds”. With him we used to roam about in that wonderful sanctuary for birds, the Ghana, in Bharatpur, and ring them; and some of the ringed birds were found as far away as Tashkent and Lake Baikal. Salim Ali is looking more and more like a bird; he makes sudden gestures and strange sounds while talking.”

P.P.Ramachandran.

8/12/2019.