Historical Bird Reports
This page contains bird data from the state of Sikkim from nineteenth century onward.
Historical ornithology reports / bird watching accounts in Sikkim can be broadly segregated in three phases :-
1801-1900
Hume was the pioneer amongst ornithologists in India. His ornithology journal on Birds of India was accounted in different volumes of Stray Feathers (Pub: 1873-1899), corresponded and authored by many. The father of Indian Ornithology had done a remarkable job deploying theoretical documentation of Indian avian fauna. Several laureates of the British Emperor penned the journal Stray Feathers.
Four major pieces of literature from Stary Feathers of AO Hume
Blanford, W. T. (1877): Notes on some birds in Mr. Mandelli’s collection from Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet.
Stray Feathers 5:482-487
Brooks, W. Edwin (1880): Ornithological observations in Sikkim, the Punjab and Sind.
Stray Feathers 8:464-469
Gammie, J. A. (1877): Occasional notes from Sikkim.
Stray Feathers 5:380-387
Scully, F. (1880): A Contribution to the Ornithology of Nepal. Stray Feathers 8:204-368
He was the survey of unexplored regions covering a round circuit commencing in 1847 from Calcutta (Kolkata) West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Darjeeling, Nepal, Sikkim, Tibet, Meghalaya, Bangladesh, and ending in 1850. Sikkim's experience was aggrieved; however, botanical and zoological specimen collected from Sikkim (country) was handsome. Himalayan Journal was published in 1854 and 1855 and later in 1891.
Major chronological events are mentioned in Hooker’s
Himalayan Journal
Blanford was also an FRS. His article Journey Through Sikkim was a travelogue after Hookers. Hooker was a botanist, whereas Blanford was a geologist and zoologist. His work was published in the Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1871. However, the actual expedition and survey were done in 1870. Several new bird species were described from this. His letters were also published in Hume’s Stary Feathers from Sikkim country.
Major chronological events that are mentioned in Blanford’s
Journey Through Sikkim
It is important to note that Tristram was a parson-naturalist. Henry Baker Tristram’s
Catalogue of a Collection of Birds (1889) accounts for specimens collected from Sikkim by Louis Mandelli, Henry John Elwes, and William Edwin Brooks. As an ornithological record keeper, his contribution is innumerable in the history of birds of Sikkim. On the following page, we will analyze all entries made by Mandelli, Elwes, and Brooks.
These were taxidermied specimens, collected from Sikkim, which were mentioned in Tristram’s catalog
Collection of Birds (1889)
Protonyms referred from AVIS-IBIS portal: https://avis.indianbiodiversity.org/
1901-1950
Stevens Herbert’s Notes on the Birds of Sikkim Himalayas was published in eight BNHS journals between 1923 to 1925. In such a detailed account, systematic notes were taken. Such journal articles later abetted Ali and other ornithologists to document the birds of Sikkim.
Stevens Herbert on the introductory page refers to Sikkim as :
Native Sikkim (Sikkim Proper, the current political boundary of Sikkim) along with
British Sikkim (annexed complex of 1850 from the left side of Teesta to Singalila range and Mechi river complex and southern boundary being Greater Rangit River – currently Darjeeling district of the state – West Bengal) and
British Bhutan (annexed complex of 1864-65 from the right side of Teesta to Rache La ridge and Dichu river complex and southern boundary being Reshi river – currently Kalimpong district of the state – West Bengal)
Thus these notes comprise avian fauna of the current geopolitical boundaries of Sikkim state and Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal state.
In two volumes of The journal of the Bombay Natural History Society xxix and xxx; this entire series of work was published in seven parts.
1) JBNHS Volume xxix. Pp 503-518. Sp 1-13
2) JBNHS Volume xxix. Pp 724-740. Sp 14-93
3) JBNHS Volume xxix. Pp 1007-1030. Sp 94-168
4) JBNHS Volume xxx. Pp 54-71. Sp 169-238
5) JBNHS Volume xxx. Pp 352-379. Sp 239-343
6) JBNHS Volume xxx. Pp 664-685. Sp 344-442
7) JBNHS Volume xxx. Pp 872-893. Sp 443-549
Ludlow did his maiden expedition to Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet in 1933. Later there were multiple visits with his colleagues of the Himalayan country – Sikkim. In an article in the British Museum bulletin, William Thomas Stearn thoroughly described Ludlow and his natural history accounts The Birds of Bhutan and Adjacent Territories of Sikkim and Tibet.
There are three parts of this account “The Birds of Bhutan and Adjacent Territories of Sikkim
and Tibet” ; only the first part is publicly available and the latter two features require
permission to access.
George Sherriff had multiple joint expeditions in the eastern Himalayas – especially in Bhutan, Tibet, and adjacent Sikkim territories. In their joint expedition, Sherriff was instrumental in procuring entire logistics. Their Sikkim expedition was very brief but was important to avian ecology.
Kinnear worked with Ludlow on multiple occasions and identified Ludlow’s collected specimens from Bhutan-Sikkim-Tibet explorations. He co-authored some journal articles with Ludlow in 1937 and 1944; where birds of Sikkim were mentioned by parts.
“The Birds of Bhutan and Adjacent Territories of Sikkim
and Tibet”.
There are three parts of this account “The Birds of Bhutan and Adjacent Territories of Sikkim and Tibet”; only the first part is publicly available and the latter two features require permission to access.
1951-1990
‘The Birdman of India‘ as elder ornithologists of modern India describes him. Previous zoo-geological and avian fauna studies were done by Hume, Hooker, Blanford, etc. Ali explored Sikkim backed up by the Maharajah of the Himalayan country. Deeper studies from previous BNHS journal accounts and Hume-Hooker-Blanford explorations were important for procuring The Birds of Sikkim. This regional field guide has been rudimentary for further works on birds of Sikkim.
This was the first generation regional field guide from the Indian subcontinent, along with a set of other regional works Ali. If anybody seeks information on Birds of Sikkim, or literary derivatives, they can mail at info@sikkimbirds.com or birdsofsikkim@gmail.com. However, the book is available online open access at Archive.
His book Birds of Sikkim was commissioned by the Chogyal or Maharajah of Sikkim HH Sir Palden Thendup Namgyal and was first published by the Sikkim Forest Department in 1962. Before publishing this book Ali along with the renowned natural history photographer Mr. Loke Wan Tho; explored Sikkim for over two years.
Loke Wan Tho worked with Salim Ali and accompanied Ali during the second expedition in 1955. Some of his maps are shown in the following page link. He was mentioned multiple times by Ali in every associated work. This richest personality from the Malayan belt in the fifties and sixties had a deep aptitude for nature, ornithology studies, and curation and wildlife photography. However, his sudden demise at an early age – 49 years; caused greater loss to the continuum of togetherness of ‘Loke-Ali’.
The winds of war brought Loke Wan Tho, photographer, ornithologist, and Malaysian business magnet, to India and to Salim Ali. Ali invited Loke to some joint exploration in west India and later they made a joint bird-watching expedition in Sikkim.
Map of Asia showing the location of Sikkim with a sketch map of Sikkim giving the place names of the villages
Here are two maps that Loke procured during their visit to Sikkim in 1955. The first map shows the location of Sikkim in Asia-India and the second map shows the villages they traveled to. All the villages they explored are tagged on this map. Both maps were prepared in 1955.
Salim Ali also wrote a memoir on Loke Wan Tho after his untimely sad demise
Memoire by Salim Ali: JBNHS (Vol. 61: 418–421)
