Salim Ali
Indian ornithologist (1896-1987) · India · On the map · Politicians · Died at 90 · Born 130 years ago today
Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist. Sometimes referred to as the "Birdman of India", Salim Ali was the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and wrote several bird books that popularised ornithology in India.
Salim Ali is read about 143 times a day, in 32 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.
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Yellow-throated sparrow![Ali (standing at left) with students of the Victoria Jubilee School for the Blind at the Prince of Wales Museum in 1927[14]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Salim_Ali_1927.jpg/500px-Salim_Ali_1927.jpg?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=parser&utm_content=thumbnail)
Ali (standing at left) with students of the Victoria Jubilee School for the Blind at the Prince of Wales Museum in 1927[14]
With Mary and Dillon Ripley on a collection trip (1976)
Label for a specimen collected by Salim Ali during his Mysore State survey
Ali with K. S. R. Krishna Raju, 1975
Birth centenary commemorative stamps showing painted storks in Bharatpur and Salim Ali (1996)
An interpretation centre at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary named after Salim AliAwards
About this person
He became a key figure behind the Bombay Natural History Society after 1947 and used his personal influence to garner government support for the organisation, establish the Bharatpur bird sanctuary and prevent the destruction of what is now the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala.
