<p>Chronicling the life of the legendary ornithologist, a new comic book brings young readers close to the life of Salim Ali, who had devoted his life to the cause of wildlife conservation.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Brought out recently by Amar Chitra Katha and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), 'Salim Ali - The Bird Man of India' tells the story of India's most passionate and erudite naturalist in cartoons.<br /><br />It narrates how the man, armed only with a pair of binoculars, travelled across the country to learn about the birds of India.<br /><br />Without any thought for money, fame, comfort or even safety, he had painstakingly observed and recorded birds in each region - deserts, rainforests, thorny scrub, mountains, and wetlands.<br /><br />BNSH director Dr Asad Rahmani recalls that when Ali was a child he received his first lesson in ornithology from W S Millard, then the secretary of the BNHS.<br /><br />"Millard helped him identify a yellow-throated sparrow. Over the years, Salim Ali's interest in birds led to his close association with the BNHS," he says.<br /><br />After Independence, the Mumbai-based Ali was among those who wrote to the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru asking for financial assistance for the wildlife group.<br /><br />"He conducted surveys, and studied birds across the country, providing the foundation upon which a lot of today's naturalists work," Rahmani says.<br /><br />Famous as the 'birdman of India', the 'Padma Vibhushan' ornithologist had passed away in 1987 at the age of 90.</p>
<p>Chronicling the life of the legendary ornithologist, a new comic book brings young readers close to the life of Salim Ali, who had devoted his life to the cause of wildlife conservation.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Brought out recently by Amar Chitra Katha and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), 'Salim Ali - The Bird Man of India' tells the story of India's most passionate and erudite naturalist in cartoons.<br /><br />It narrates how the man, armed only with a pair of binoculars, travelled across the country to learn about the birds of India.<br /><br />Without any thought for money, fame, comfort or even safety, he had painstakingly observed and recorded birds in each region - deserts, rainforests, thorny scrub, mountains, and wetlands.<br /><br />BNSH director Dr Asad Rahmani recalls that when Ali was a child he received his first lesson in ornithology from W S Millard, then the secretary of the BNHS.<br /><br />"Millard helped him identify a yellow-throated sparrow. Over the years, Salim Ali's interest in birds led to his close association with the BNHS," he says.<br /><br />After Independence, the Mumbai-based Ali was among those who wrote to the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru asking for financial assistance for the wildlife group.<br /><br />"He conducted surveys, and studied birds across the country, providing the foundation upon which a lot of today's naturalists work," Rahmani says.<br /><br />Famous as the 'birdman of India', the 'Padma Vibhushan' ornithologist had passed away in 1987 at the age of 90.</p>