The Search for India’s Rarest Birds

by Shashank Dalvi, Anita Mani

To find a rare bird is the ultimate dream of ornithologists and birdwatchers. But doing it requires an understanding of habitats, animal behaviour and people skills as well as plain old good luck. Join ornithologists, naturalists and birdwatchers in the dense jungles of north-eastern India, the mysterious channels of the Sundarbans, the shola grasslands of the Western Ghats and the majestic landforms of the Deccan, as they track down the rarest birds of the Indian subcontinent.

Genres: Nonfiction

245 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 13, 2024

Reviews

[Udit Nair · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a rewarding experience to read this. I am not sure if I will ever be able to see any of these birds. The book consists of essays written by prolific birdwatchers from India. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommend to anyone who is remotely interested in indian birdwatching or just birds in general. I am biased because I know the thrill of going through different and difficult terrains and spotting a bird out there. Birdwatching in general has been one of the most exquisite experiences of my life and some of these essays are just so good. It also makes you acknowledge that there are so many like minded people who are equally crazy about this hobby or craze or whatever you want to call birdwatching by.

[Rakshit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for anyone even remotely interested in birdwatching.

[Harshith J. V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing set of ornithological adventure and rediscovery compiled in one book. Must've book for serious birdwatchers of India. The intrepid birders and explorers have given detailed accounts of their expeditions in finding birds lost to science.

The book serves as inspiration for birders to get off comfort zone of following a recent discovery or established observations and go explore a new path to uncover species in an region that is not discovered there before.

[Stephen Dunstan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The work is a collection of a dozen essays about rare birds. 'Rare' in this context is somewhat fluid. The opening account by Aasheesh on the Pink-headed Duck covers a species generally regarded as extinct. It's followed by a piece by Bharat Bhushan on searching for the critically endangered Jerdon's Courser.

Other sections of the book include discovering or rediscovering birds in India that were strongly suspected to be overlooked. These include interesting cases like the Forest Owlet which was 'hiding in plain sight' at several sites in India for many years despite being active during the day. Other accounts on the Banasura Laughingthrush and Masked Finfoot involve treks to remote areas but also cautionary tales about habitat damage.

I enjoyed Radhika Raj's account about the Nicobar Megapode. It's engagingly written but the subject matter is also fascinating in its own right. A species greatly threatened by habitat loss in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami it has a unique approach to nesting. The eggs are buried in a giant mound of compost and sand, which keeps them at the required temperature with the birds removing some of the mound if there is risk of overheating.

Several of the first few chapters are a bit similar in content, involving tracking down some hard to find species and also discovering out that they had already been found or refound by others. This is broken up with an entertaining piece on twitching within India by Atul Jain, it's always good to read about this outside of the UK where it is most popular. This and James Eaton's account of finding Long-billed Bush Warbler give some insight into the mind of the obsessive seeker of 'rare' birds however defined.

The initial sentence of the introduction says 'the biggest high for a birder is coming upon a species hitherto unknown to science'. I don't agree with that, I can't remember if it was Kenn Kaufmann who said you're a good birder if you enjoy it but I agree with the sentiment and not everyone needs to see the rarest of the rare. But this book gives a great insight into birders who do get their highs this way, what makes them tick and some of the astonishing exploits they get up to as a result.

The search for India's Rarest Birds is currently available to UK readers for £4.80 as an ebook on Amazon. Personally I think it's well worth the price of a pint.

[Aditya Pradhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad that I finally got to read this book!
The book is a compilation of essays by eminent ornithologists where they narrate their stories of seeing some of the rarest, almost mythical birds that India hosts. While the quality of writing varies a bit from chapter to chapter, each story was extremely compelling. I found it difficult to put the book down after I completed around half of the chapters!
For every birder, the book is a must read and its stories will inspire you to go out there in search of new rarities. Different essays tackle different aspects of birding including studying specimens and historical records, planning out your search, acoustics, travel stories, and conservation issues the birds face making it all the more interesting!

My only minor criticism is the lack of pictures used. There are a few pages with plates of images, one each for all the different bird species mentioned (the jerdon's courser only gets the cover illustration). I would have loved it if the publishers would have included more photos including some of the specimens, illustrations explaining morphological differences, habitat photos, etc. for each bird. While all these photos can be searched for by the reader on the net, including such photos in the book would provide an even more immersive reading experience.

Overall, really enjoyed reading this book. I would also love to read chapters on rarities like the Himalayan Quail and the Manipur Bush Quail, which were mentioned only briefly here, perhaps in a sequel!

[Simon Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of essays written by a series of highly knowledgeable Indian Birding experts of different disciplines all focused on a certain rare, elusive bird species.

The writers tales of courageous pursuit of these rare avian birds on Indian soil are captivating shining the spotlight on how diverse the Indian sub-continent is for birding and its vast potential for birding eco-tourism adventures.

The relentless pursuit and determination of the writers in finding their target birds is contagious filling us readers with fresh enthusiasm for our next birding adventure where-ever we are based.

Having read the book it has definitely inspired me to travel to India to experience some of these adventures for myself.

Recommended for all twitchers and armchair twitchers alike.

[Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic and a very easy read. A collection of various chapters written by very well known birders about their quest for rare Indian birds. Expectedly, some of these bird areas the people go to hugely overlap. For example, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and areas in North East India. The writing style varies of course but all of them are written so that it is largely accessible to a birds/biology aware reader. The only downside is that non-birders are somewhat less likely to enjoy all the chapters perhaps but you never know. If you have even a mild interest in birds, biology, travel, geography…perhaps just a “general knowledge” kind of fix, I think the book is for you.

[Soma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book for anyone remotely interested in birding in Indian subcontinent. 12 fabulously written chapters by birdwatchers par excellence highlighting the uber treacherous path to finding enigmatic rare birds. Each piece is written with minute detailing and with due credit and ample explanation of local guides and helping staff that's often ignored in public media. Anita Mani and Shashank Dalvi should be credited for envisioning such a charming book and bringing it to life.

[Arundhati · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an amateur birder, some of the essays were interesting and got me excited about the possibility of seeing some of these birds. The essays also throw light on the hardships faced, research done to re-discover/ discover species and on conservation efforts. However, some essays got a tad too technical for me.

[Sujith Ravindran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for twitchers.