Dr Salim Ali was a bird hunter at a young age. Jim Corbett was a hunter in the beginning. History has many examples to demonstrate that some significant moment in life transforms a man to emerge as a renowned person. On Nov 12^th of every year, we remember Dr Salim Moizuddin Abdul Ali, fondly called Birdman of India and this is his 128^th birthday. Born in Mumbai, he dedicated his life to birds. Even today, his book is referred to by many for reference. Let me share an interesting moment in my life. Three decades ago, while some of us were roaming in the Sathyamangalam forests, we spotted a bright brown bird in a tall tree and were curious to identify it. Its tail was not long but it resembled a Paradise flycatcher. In those days, we had no other reference books except Dr Salim Ali’s book.

We all started birding as it was an opportunity to visit places and see different habitats. My journey as an environmental activist began with such visits. Today we have hundreds of books like Grimmett, Grewal, etc. Even your smartphone can help. You have a lot of mobile apps like iNatural, eBird, or Google Lens to help. Even the entire team had only one binocular.  We had nothing with us except Dr Ali’s book in which it was mentioned that the female Paradise Flycatcher has a short tail, unlike the male. This incident raised my admiration for Dr Ali multi-fold. Similarly, if one had observed some strange behaviour pattern of a bird, mostly that behaviour might have been mentioned in Salim Ali’s book. ‘The Book of Indian Birds’ by Salim Ali is the first of its kind. I still have the 1996 Salim Ali Centenary edition with me and I do refer to the book even now, though several books have come up with colourful bird photos. The interesting fact about Dr Ali’s book was that he described even unusual behaviours of birds. I wonder how he has documented all the minute details of the birds. He mentions how many eggs a bird lays, and the colour and size of the eggs in his book. He has recorded the calls. He even kept track of the nesting season. About migration also, he mentions where the birds visit and where one cannot find the species. Such amazing details come in handy for the birders. Today, e-bird portal keeps millions of recordings taking advantage of electronic platforms and AI potential. But think of 20^th century when electronics were in a rudimentary stage.  If there are thousands of birders in India now, it is because of the efforts and interest created by him. Dr Salim Ali lives in our minds