Salim Moizuddin Abdul Ali was a versatile ornithologist, explorer, ecologist, teacher & a writer. Born on 12th November 1896 Salim Ali took up ornithology at a time when the subject in India was little more than an Englishman's pastime. Salim Ali made it a serious pursuit. In 1930 he went to the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) with a proposal. Indian birds had not been studied systematically, so would the Society send him on ornithological surveys? He didn't want a salary, only expenses. Thus for the next 20 years Salim Ali roamed the subcontinent, studying birds from Kutch to Sikkim, from Afganistan to Kerla. His method were so unique-he wove history, ecology and geography into his description of a bird and its habitat. In 1941 Slim Ali published "The Book of Indian Birds." It was an instant success. During this period he formed a deep and abiding friendship with S. Dillon Ripley, a young zoologist with the US Army in Celylon. Pooling their vast knowlege, the two men would later publish the ten-volume Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India