Salim Ali was an Indian scientist. He was famously known as the Bird Man of India. In the year 1980, he implemented the BNHS project, which aimed to reduce bird strike accidents at Indian airports.
Salim Ali was an Indian scientist. He was born on 12 November 1896 in Mumbai. He died on 27 July 1987 in Mumbai. He did his schooling from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He earned a degree in commercial law and accounting from Bombay University.
His father’s name was Moijuddin, and his mother’s name was Zeenat-un-Nisa. He had nine siblings.
Interesting facts about Salim Ali
Salim Ali was famously known as the Bird Man of India.
Salim Ali developed a curiosity in bird watching at a young age. His family encouraged him to pursue education in ornithology.
He worked with JC Hopwood and Berthold Ribbentrop during his forest service in Burma.
Salim Ali got married in December 1918.
He did not possess a formal university degree due to which he could not secure job as an ornithologist in the Zoological Survey of India.
Salim Ali’s study on birds
Salim Ali closely studied the reproduction of the Baya Weaver bird and discovered its sequential polygamous reproductive system.
In the 1960s, Salim Ali proposed to make the Great Indian Bustard as India’s national bird, however, peacock was declared as the national bird of India.
During his years of work, he was awarded with various doctorate degrees by various universities including Aligarh Muslim University (1958), Delhi University (1973), and Andhra University (1978).
The Government of India honoured Salim Ali with the prestigious Padma Bhushan Award in the year 1958.
Salim Ali’s awards
In the year 1967, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the British Ornithological Union.
In the year 1969, he was awarded the C Phillips Memorial Medal for the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
In the year 1980, he implemented the BNHS project, which aimed to reduce bird strike accidents at Indian airports.
He was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha by the Government of India in 1985.
During his scientific journey, Salim Ali wrote many articles for the magazine Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.
Salim Ali’s autobiography
Salim Ali’s autobiography titled the ‘The Fall of Sparrow’ was published in the year 1985.
In 1987, he passed away due to prostrate cancer. He was 91 years old at the time. A postage stamp was issued in Salim Ali’s memory.
‘Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History’ (SACON) was established in Coimbatore in 1990.
Actor Akshay Kumar’s role of 'Pakshi Ranjan' in the 2018 Bollywood film ‘2.0’ was inspired by Salim Ali.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.