Frontiersmen of the History of Indian Ornithology

This writing would be about those who were more into ornithology than that of birding and bird watching in India. Ornithology is a subject which explains the systematic study of zoology of birds; whereas birding is a type of observation on natural history events of avian fauna. Now a days, a new niche has been generated whose point of interests are even more specific than the birders; they are the "Bird Photographers". Thus if Ornithology is considered to a super-set and then Birding, as a natural history event keeping, is just the subset of ornithology. Whereas, Bird photography as it turns out today, could be termed as a junction bridge, which is an improper subset of both Birding and Ornithology, but acts as a correlative between "Ornithology" and "Birding", if done ethically and cordially.

The evolutionary study of ornithology in India has a series of mile long past events. In ancient literature like Vedas, the brood parasitism of Cuckoo or the mating display of Indian peafowl had been noted. Most recent significant contribution towards ornithology started when European settlement or colonization had started at the 17th century. In the beginning ornithology for most of the enthusiasts were just a past time hobby of collecting bird eggs, bird nest or taxidermy of game birds. Later, this culture of collection of taxidermy specimens, curiosity and prolific interest made it a subject of study for zoology.

In the beginning of twentieth century, a new genre of enthusiasts formed as that of passionate ornithologists of previous generation, who were mostly interested into either watching the birds using field scopes or recording their voice using voice recording devices. In that aspect bird photography or video creation may be termed as a new generation hobby.

Now, "Bird Painters" should never be discredited; their contribution towards both "Ornithology" and "Bird Watching" had lead towards the genre of "Bird Photography" when camera equipment became easily available, with lesser available time to pursue passion, for the general public.
Earlier, either, bird photographers had to observe the species for a long time, or they used taxidermy stuffed bodies of birds as a subject of painting. Most of the time, due to inaccuracy of processing of stuffed body, the taxidermy corpses used to be deformed. Otherwise, since during painting, the painter had to memorize from past about the description of the bird; thus most often paintings were erroneous.

After the independence, India had some notable father figures, who contributed towards Indian ornithology. From time to time they contributed towards the systemetic survey towards conservation, classification of specie taxanomy, thereby writings in journals, regional field guides and books; which in turn enriched Indian ornithology.

• Humayun Abdulali (ornithology, natural history, wildlife conservation, taxonomy)
• Salim Ali (Father of Indian Ornithology)
• Anwaruddin Choudhury (An expert on the fauna of North-East India)
• J. C. Daniel (An acclaimed naturalist and ornithologist)
• Zafar Futehally (An Indian naturalist and ornithologist)
• Bikram Grewal (A renowned ornithologist and writer of several ornithology books)
• Dharmakumar Singhji (Bhavnagar crowned prince and an esteemed bird of his time)
• Himmat Singhji (Kutch prince, politician and a notable birder from western India)

Unless interested, one can skip from here, rather going through further on this topic. Here in this blog, we will see the name of those ornithologists, birders and bird watchers, after whose names "English Name Nomenclature" of the birds of Indian subcontinent had been done as per "Birds of the Indian Subcontinent" by Richard Grimmett • Carol Inskipp • Tim Inskipp.

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Alexander von Nordmann (Image Source: Wikipedia) Nordmann's Greenshank

Alexander Wilson (Image Source: Wikipedia) Wilson's Storm-petrel

Allan Octavian Hume (Image Source: Wikipedia) Hume's Groundpecker Hume's Short-toed Lark Hume's Owl Hume's Hawk Owl Mrs Hume's Pheasant Hume's Whitethroat Hume's Wheatear Hume's Leaf Warbler Hume's Bush Warbler Hume's Treecreeper Mrs Hume's Pheasant

Brian Houghton Hodgson (Image Source: Wikipedia) Hodgson's Bushchat Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo Hodgson's Treecreeper Hodgson's Redstart Hodgson's Frogmouth

Coenraad Jacob Temminck (Image Source: Wikipedia) Temminck's Tragopan Temminck's Stint

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Colonel William Vincent Legge  (Image Source: fingalvalleyhistory) Legge's Hawk Eagle Legge's Flowerpecker

Daniel Giraud Elliot (Image Source: Wikipedia) Elliot's Laughingthrush

Edgar Leopold Layard (Image Source: Wikipedia) Layard's Parakeet

Édouard Ménétries (Image Source: Wikipedia) Ménétries Warbler

Eduard Friedrich Von Eversmann (Image Source: Wikipedia) Eversmann's Redstart

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Henry Morris Upcher (Image Source: BBC) Upcher's Warbler

Harriet Robert Tytler (Image Source: Wikipedia) Tytler's Leaf Warbler

Gustav Radde (Image Source: Wikipedia) Radde's Accentor Radde's Warbler

George Montagu (Image Source: Wikipedia) Montagu's Harrier

Frank Kingdon Ward (Image Source: ornaverum) Ward's Trogon

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Franco Andrea Bonelli (Image Source: Wikipedia) Bonelli's Eagle

Francesco Cetti (Image Source: Wikipedia) Cetti's Warbler

Ferdinand Stolička (Image Source: Wikipedia) Stolicka's Bushchat

Edward Blyth (Image Source: Wikipedia) Blyth's Kingfisher Blyth's Reed Warbler Blyth's Leaf Warbler Blyth's Tragopan Blyth's Starling Blyth's Pipit

Howard Saunders (Image Source: Wikipedia) Saunders's Tern

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Jerome Alexander Sillem (Image Source: Wikipedia) Sillem's Mountain Finch

Johan Coenraad van Hasselt (Image Source: strangebehaviors.wordpress.com) Van Hasselt's Sunbird

Johann Friedrich von Brandt (Image Source: Wikipedia) Brandt's Mountain Finch

John Gould (Image Source: Wikipedia) Mrs Gould's Sunbird Gould's Shortwing

John James Audubon (Image Source: Wikipedia) Audubon's Shearwater

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Karl Ernst von Baer (Image Source: Wikipedia) Baer's Pochard

Karl Kessler (Image Source: Wikipedia) Kessler's Thrush

Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein  (Image Source: Wikipedia) Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse

Otto Finsch (Image Source: Wikipedia) Finsch's Wheatear

Peter Simon Pallas (Image Source: Wikipedia) Pallas's Fish Eagle Pallas's Gull Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler Pallas's Sandgrouse Pallas's Fish Eagle Pallas's Reed Bunting

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Philip Lutley Sclater (Image Source: Wikipedia) Sclater's Monal

Robert Swinhoe (Image Source: Wikipedia) Swinhoe's Minivet Swinhoe's Snipe

Samuel Tickell (Image Source: Wikipedia) Tickell's Blue Flycatcher Tickell's Leaf Warbler Tickell's Thrush

Theodor von Heuglin (Image Source: Wikipedia) Heuglin's Gull

Thomas Caverhill Jerdon (Image Source: Wikipedia) Jerdon's Babbler Jerdon's Baza Jerdon's Bushlark Jerdon's Courser Jerdon's Leafbird Jerdon's Nightjar Jerdon's Bushchat

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William Edwin Brooks (Image Source: Wikipedia) Brook's Leaf Warbler

William Henry Sykes (Image Source: Wikipedia) Sykes's Lark Sykes's Nightjar Sykes's Warbler

William Louis Abbott (Image Source: ansp) Abbott's Babbler

William Thomas Blanford (Image Source: Wikipedia) Blanford's Snowfinch

Johann Anton Güldenstädt (Image Source: www.christies.com) Güldenstädt's Redstart

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Edward George Bulwer Lytton (Image Source: Wikipedia) Bulwer Petrel

Armand Barau (Image Source: Wikipedia) Barau's Petrel

Louis Antoine François Baillon (Image Source: Wikipedia) Baillon's Crake

Joan Gideon Loten (Image Source: Wikipedia) Loten Sunbird

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Few more ornithologists and birders whose images are not found anywhere are listed below

Hugh Whistler 
Whistler's Warbler

Frank Finn
Finn's Weaver

Louis Mandelli
Mandelli's Leaf Warbler

Claudia
Claudia's Leaf Warbler

Nicholas Aylward Vigors
Vigors's Sunbird

Christian Jouanin
Jouanin's Petrel

Alex Macqueen
Macqueen's Bustard

Charles Henry Tilson Marshall
Marshall's Iora

Peter Gustaf Tengmalm
Tengmalm's Owl

Szechenyi
Szechenyi's Monal

Godlewski
Godlewski's Bunting

Richard
Richard's Pipit

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About GoingWild:
Photographing Wildlife and adrenaline pump is synonymous. This rush and the tremendous biodiversity of mother earth offers immense opportunities to quench our thirst of clicking wildlife and give us many reasons for GoingWild.

We are a team of photographers with years of experience in birding and wildlife photography under our belt and thus our tours are not mere wildlife or birding excursions but much more than that. We take religious care to afford the best available means to the participants of our tours at remote locations for their utmost satisfaction. With individual attention to each of our participants we share our expertise to bring the best out of their equipment, so that the images made in the tours are nothing less but memories to cherish.All that you need to do is travel with GoingWild and we look after everything else.

Being in wildlife photography for years we have developed an extensive understanding of all the locations and its wildlife where we plan our tours. Our long term association with the wild and the practice of framing our tours to promote responsible and sustainable wildlife tourism has also helped us in making strong bonds with guides and trackers who have profound knowledge about the wildlife in their areas. GoingWild tours are accompanied by expert wildlife photographers, who not only take you a step closer to understand the wildlife but also make the best images out of it.


Alongside of Wildlife Photography tours and Birding tours we also organize photography workshops. We customize tours for corporate bodies,educational institutes,families and individuals as well.

We promise the best on our tours to bring you the joy that only the wild can bring!
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• Point of Contact: Send a mail to dibyendu@goingwild.in or support@goingwild.in mentioning your interest for birding and wildlife photography related queries.
One can also reach to +919681417974 (Dibyendu Ash) or +918017804277 (Soumyajit Nandy) or +919163631493 (Tamanud Mitra) for guided birding cum bird photography cum wildlife photography here. Arrangement for clean and subtle mud huts / eco-camps / eco resorts, dedicated boat for entire birding trip along with a naturalist-cum-birder are done by GoingWild.

Sundarbans Tiger Reserve | Wildlife Photography

The largest of all estuarine mangrove is Sundarbans National Park, which is situated at the southern most coast of West Bengal, India and it is the house of  the most lucrative of all big cat species that inhibit in the entire world, Royal Bengal Tiger. Now, the question that comes in our mind why they have the nomenclature as "Royal Bengal Tiger"? To get the answer we have to see the history of the area first.

The vast planes of India came under British rule from Mughal emperor-ship; Bengal Presidency officially formed in the year of 1765. During company rule, Calcutta, a city beside river Ganges at today's West Bengal, was the major trading center and during British Raj, the capital of India became Calcutta. Britishers and that time Maharajas always had an affinity towards killing the magnificent beast, the Tiger. A burgeon culture in and around Calcutta grew to showcase the tiger skin along with taxidermied skull. From that affinity, the tigers from all over India were known as Royal Bengal Tiger or just the Bengal Tiger. Later the Maharajas of other presidency became accustomed to this culture and thousands and lakhs of them were killed for the sole purpose of trophy hunting.
When the Britishers were gone, their habit came through the Indian blood line of Poachers, who in turn declined the entire population of tigers across India into thousands.

The presence of super predator in any national park depends on many major factors amongst which "a sophisticated prey base" is the most important one. Tiger population at its height were estimated as many as one lakh at the start of 20th century. Main cause of decline in population is the increase in urbanization; since the entire national park falls under the estuaries, thus practically urbanization were never been a threat for this mangrove forest, though some confirmed and unconfirmed report of human animal conflicts are common at the forest edge villages.

A typical estuarine fauna habitat. High tide level is up to the naked tree roots
(Click on the image to see it in full screen) 

During our visit to Sunderbans in the month of August '14, our team of six photographers managed to frame and record the presence of mammals like Spotted Deer, Rhesus Macaque, Irrawady Dolphin etc. On the other hand we were lucky in terms of birding too. Two of the rarest avian visitors in India had been photographed too. First one is Ruddy Kingfisher and another one is Buffy Fish Owl.

Beside Buffy Fish Owl and Ruddy Kingfisher one can also find find the some extreme mammals like Irrawady Dolphin. These euryhaline species are categorized as Vulnerable, according to IUCN red data. National level efforts are there to protect these elusive specie. Efforts from Forest Department, researchers, wildlife photographers and wildlife enthusiasts can prevent the upcoming Holocene extinction of the species.

Another species, that is worth mentioning in this post, is none other than Changeable Hawk Eagle. Both morphs of changeable Hawk Eagles could be seen here. The elusive dark morph of Changeable Hawk Eagle, that is found and seen here, are exclusive of all findings and spotting of the specie in general across Indian Subcontinent. The rarest of all, dark and crestless morph of the specie can be seen along the river side perched high in some of the tallest trees.

Other major key species that could be found and photographed here with ample opportunity are Water Monitor (Varanus salvator salvator), Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris humii), Spotted Deer (Axis axis) and Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta).

Below are some key species that had been photographed from the tiger denizen.

Ruddy Kingfisher

Rhesus Macaque

Spotted Deer

Spotted Deer

Water Monitor

Bronzed Drongo

Changeable Hawk Eagle; A rare dark morph and crestless

Collared Kingfisher

Irrawady Dolphin

Other Helpful Information:

• Where to Stay: Stay options are ample. To make a wildlife photography trip in the mangroves jungle cruise boats are most important thing. Specialized boats with lesser vibration, knowledgeable guides, reputed cruise pilot and naturalists, who know the place well beyond others are the most important parameter to make a successful wildlife photography trip at this Tiger Reserve. All these mentioned logistic supports are arranged for the enthusiasts by GoingWild.

• Best time to visit: Try to avoid this place in the months of April and May, otherwise for the rest ten months it is a premier location for rest eight months. Early November to late May is the best time for birding and bird photography.

• Point of Contact: Send a mail to dibyendu@goingwild.in or support@goingwild.in mentioning your interest for birding and wildlife photography related queries.
One can also reach to +919681417974 (Dibyendu Ash) or +918017804277 (Soumyajit Nandy) or +919163631493 (Tamanud Mitra) for guided birding cum bird photography cum wildlife photography here. Arrangement for clean and subtle mud huts / eco-camps / eco resorts, dedicated boat for entire birding trip along with a naturalist-cum-birder are done by GoingWild.