Humayun Abdulali

Humayun Abdulali (May 19, 1914 in Kobe, Japan - June 3, 2001 in Mumbai) was an Indian ornithologist, and a cousin of Salim Ali. He started with bird egg collection and shikar. Charles McCann said of him that 'he know something about everything.' While studying Zoology at St Xavier's college in Bombay he put together a collection of birds from Bombay which led to the publication of a six part series on the Birds of Bombay and Salsette in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (1936-1939) co authored by Salim Ali. His first publication was in 1931 on 'Eleven Koel eggs in a crows nest'. He published 348 notes in his lifetime and his greatest contribution was the cataloguing of the specimens in the collection of the BNHS. After joining the Bombay Natural History Society as an Honorary Secretary in 1949, was instrumental in cataloguing of the bird skins in the collection. He also led two expeditions to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1964 and 1966. He was honorary secretary of the BNHS from 1949-1961. He was instrumental in drafting the Bombay Wild Animals and Wild Birds Protection Act of 1951. He was also responsible for the protection and designation of the Borivli National Park.

Several species including a new species of frog "Nyctibatrachus humayuni" and a new species of Nicobar Scops Owl "Otus alius" have been named after him, and he himself described the Andaman subspecies of Black Baza.

His work on frogs in agricultural ecosystems also helped in the establishment of a ban on frog leg exports by the Indian Government.

References

* Aasheesh Pittie Obituary Humayun Abdulali, 1914-2001. OBC Bulletin (34):8