Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Speaking Tree website | Aug 21, 2017

Salim Ali is India's most renowned ornithologist. He became interested in bird-watching when just ten years of age. Since then he has spent the greater part of his life with binoculars in hand, a camera strung across one shoulder and a bag contain 19 essential equipment on the other. Most of the time he is to be found in the countryside, watching birds and observing their habits. He has traveled far and wide in pursuit of his interest, and is said to be even more widely travelled than Jawaharlal Nehru. It is not surprising, then, that people call him a birdman. His expertise in the study of birds has earned him many national and international awards.

More than 2,000 species of birds are found in India. Salim Ali's study of them has enabled him to write many books on the subject. One of his books, The Handbook of Indian Birds, was the result of 20 years of intensive study.

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Recently, Mr. Ali was interviewed at his home in Mumbai by a correspondent of a major Indian national daily newspaper. The journalist found him courteous and urbane to a quite exceptional degree and it occurred to him that perhaps this immense courtesy in some way was derived from his observation of birds: In his report of the interview (The Times of India, September 2, 1983) he wrote: "Perhaps a course in bird-watching should be recommended to make men more human."

Innumerable species of birds and animals are to be found in the world. In ancient times, man knew very little about them, but in the present age extensive study has been made of the different animals that inhabit the earth, and much information about them has been accumulated. Nowadays, there are various ways that one can become acquainted with animals' way of life. This is one of the purposes behind aviaries and zoos.

Zoology, the science of animals, is a permanent feature of the curricula of most universities. Human beings have a good example in the animals, for they live perfectly natural lives, whereas humans deviate time and time again from the path of nature. If people would only follow in the path of animals, this in itself would be enough to earn them salvation.