The Bombay Natural History Society, founded in 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. [1] It supports many research efforts through grants, and publishes the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (also JBNHS) is a Natural history journal published several times a year by the Bombay Natural History Society Many prominent naturalists, including the ornithologists Salim Ali and S. Dillon Ripley have been associated with it. Sálim Ali, born Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali ( November 12, 1896 - July 27, 1987) was an Indian Ornithologist and naturalist Sidney Dillon Ripley ( 20 September 1913 - 12 March 2001) was a noted American ornithologist and leader in Wildlife [2] The society is commonly known by its initials, BNHS.
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History
On September 15, 1883 eight residents of Bombay met in the then Victoria and Albert Museum (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum) and
| “ | constituted themselves as the Bombay Natural History Society. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. Year 1883 ( MDCCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Mumbai, India, was founded in the early years of the 20th century by some prominent citizens of Bombay with the help They proposed to meet monthly and exchange notes, exhibit interesting specimens and otherwise encourage each other. | ” |
According to E. H. Aitken (the first Honorary Secretary, September 1883-March 1886), Dr G. Edward Hamilton Aitken (born 16 August 1851 in Satara, India, died 11 April 1909 Edinburgh) was a Humorist A. Maconochie was the fons et origo of the Society. The other founders were Dr D. MacDonald, Col. C. Swinhoe, Mr J. Colonel Charles Swinhoe ( 27 August 1838 - 2 December 1923) was an English naturalist and Lepidopterist, who C. Anderson, Mr J. Johnston, Dr Atmaram Pandurang and Dr Sakharam Arjun. [3] Mr H. M. Phipson (second Honorary Secretary, 1886-1906) was also a part of the founding group and he lent a part of his wine shop at 18 Forbes Street to the BNHS as an office. Herbert Musgrave Phipson (born London, 1850 died London August 7 1936 was a British wine merchant and naturalist who lived in Bombay (now Mumbai) India
In 1911, R. C. Wroughton a BNHS member and forest officer organized a survey of mammals making use of the members spread through the Indian subcontinent to provide specimens. Robert Charles Wroughton (1849-1921 was an officer in the Indian Forest Service from 1871 to 1904 This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. This was perhaps the first collaborative natural history study in the world and resulted in a collection of 50,000 specimens in 12 years. Several new species were discovered, 47 publications were published, and the understanding of biogeographic boundaries was improved[4].
In the early years, the Journal of the BNHS reviewed contemporary literature from other parts of the world. The description of ant-bird interactions in German by Erwin Stresemann was reviewed in a 1935 issue leading to the introduction of the term anting into English. Erwin Stresemann ( November 22, 1889 - November 20, 1972) was a German Ornithologist. In the Behavior called anting, Birds rub insects on their feathers usually Ants which secrete liquids containing chemicals such as Formic acid
Today the BNHS is headquartered in the specially constructed Hornbill House is Southern Mumbai. Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial It sponsors studies in Indian wildlife and conservation, and publishes a four-monthly journal, Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS), as well as a quarterly magazine, Hornbill. The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (also JBNHS) is a Natural history journal published several times a year by the Bombay Natural History Society The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (also JBNHS) is a Natural history journal published several times a year by the Bombay Natural History Society
BNHS logo
The BNHS logo is the Great Hornbill, inspired by a Great Hornbill named William, who lived on the premises of the Society from 1894 until 1920, during the honorary secretaryships of H. M. Phipson until 1906 and W. S. Millard from 1906 to 1920[5]. The Great Hornbill, Buceros bicornis also known as Greater Indian Hornbill or Two-horned Calao, is the largest Asian member of the Hornbill family Herbert Musgrave Phipson (born London, 1850 died London August 7 1936 was a British wine merchant and naturalist who lived in Bombay (now Mumbai) India Walter Samuel Millard (1864-1952 was a British Entrepreneur and naturalist who was honorary secretary of the Bombay Natural History Society and editor The logo was created in 1933, the silver-jubilee year of the Society's founding. According to H. M. Phipson, William was born in May 1894 and presented to the Society three months later by H. Ingle of Karwar. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Karwar ( Kannada: '''ಕಾರವಾರ''' Konkani / Marathi - कर्वार He reached his full length (4. 25 feet (1. 30 m) by the end of his third year. His diet consisted of fruit like plantains and wild figs, but also of live mice, scorpions, and plain raw meat, which he ate with relish[5]. He apparently did not drink water, nor use it for bathing[5]. William was also known for catching tennis balls thrown at him from a distance of some thirty feet with his beak[5]. In his obituary of W. S. Millard, Sir Norman Kinnear made the following remarks about William:[6]
| “ | Every visitor to the Society's room in Appollo Street will remember the great Indian Hornbill, better known as the "office canary" which lived in a cage behind Millard's chair in Phipson & Co. Sir Norman Boyd Kinnear ( August 11, 1882 - August 11, 1957) was a Scottish Zoologist. 's office for 26 years and died in 1920. It is said its death was caused by swallowing a piece of wire, but in the past "William" had swallowed a lighted cigar without ill effects and I for my part think that the loss of his old friend was the principal cause. | ” |
 Profile, by E. Comber (1897) of the Great Indian Hornbill, "William," who lived on the premises of the Society from 1894 until 1920, and who would later be the model for the Society's logo. |
 Another photograph of "William," by E. Comber published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 1897. |
 Cover of BNHS membership application from May 1939 displaying the new Hornbill logo, created the previous year, for the 50th anniversary of the Society's founding. |
 The new logo of the "Bombay Natural History Society India" was created in 2004. |
References
- ^ Organizations: India. US Library of Congress, Portals to the World. Retrieved 3 December 2006.
- ^ BNHS:Mission and Vision, Bombay Natural History Society. Retrieved 3 December 2006.
- ^ Rachel Reuben (2005) The Indian Founders. Hornbill (Apr-Jun):pp. 13-15
- ^ Newton, Paul & Matt Ridley. Biology under the Raj. New Scientist. (22 September 1983) pp. 857-867
- ^ a b c d Phipson, H. M. 1897. "The Great Indian Hornbill in captivity," (Miscellaneous Note Number 2) Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, volume 11, number 2, pp. 307-308.
- ^ Kinnear, N. B. 1952. "W. S. Millard" Journal of Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 50:910-913.
See also
- Conservation in India
External links
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