Threatened Birds of Maharashtra

Threatened Birds of Maharashtra is the third in the 'Threatened Birds' series published by the BNHS and OUP. This book brings information about the globally threatened bird species that are presently reported from Maharashtra state. The book will help to assess the present status and distribution of the threatened bird species found in Maharashtra, and the recommendations for each species show the way ahead.

Asad R. Rahmani,Raju Kasambe,Sujit Narwade,Pramod Patil,Noor I. Khan

Asad R. Rahmani is the Director of the Bombay Natural History Society since 1997. He joined BNHS in 1980 and worked as Principal Scientist in various projects. In 1991, he joined the Department of Wildlife Science, Aligarh Muslim University, where he worked for six years. In 1997, he rejoined BNHS as Director. He has written more than 150 peer-reviewed research papers in national and international journals, 12 books, and numerous popular articles and book reviews. His principal research interest has been conservation of Indian bustards, storks and cranes, and many other threatened species, as well as grassland habitats. He is the Executive Editor ofJournal of the BNHS, and Editor of Hornbill, Buceros,and Mistnet. He has been a Ph.D. guide to 10 students, and Principal Investigator of many prestigious projects of the BNHS, including the Important Bird Areas (IBA) Programme of BirdLife International, RSPB, and BNHS.

Raju Kasambe was awarded a doctorate for his thesis 'Ecology and breeding behaviour of Indian Grey Hornbills'. He has more than 100 publications on birds and butterflies to his credit. He has co-authoredImportant Bird Areas in Maharashtra: Priority Sites for Conservation and authoredMaharashtratil Phulapakhare (Butterflies of Maharashtra). After working as a Medical Representative for 18 years, he joined BNHS in 2010 as Project Manager of the IBA Programme. He is the Assistant Editor of the quarterly newsletterMistnet published by IBCN-BNHS.

Sujit Narwade is working as a Project Scientist at BNHS. After completing M.Sc. in 2003, he joined Environmental Information System (ENVIS) Centre on avian ecology at BNHS in 2004. He is pursuing his Ph.D. degree on 'Birds of Deccan plateau of Maharashtra with special reference to conservation of Great Indian Bustard', under the supervision of Dr Asad R. Rahmani. At present he is coordinating various research projects including 'Avifaunal study of proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport, Navi Mumbai' and 'Impact of wind mills on birds and bats in India'. He recently completed a project on Great Indian Bustard at Chandrapur area and also submitted a Wildlife Conservation and Monitoring Plan for the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Solapur, Maharashtra. He was the main contributor to four technical bulletins, six research notes, six research papers, and eight reports.

Pramod Patil, a postgraduate medical doctor, is also an amateur birdwatcher. He got involved in conservation after sighting the Critically Endangered Great Indian Bustard at Nannaj. Subsequently, he developed an interest in wildlife conservation, and became associated with the IBCN-BNHS. He is keen on the socio-economic aspects of grasslands, dry-land farming, and associated wildlife conservation problems in India. He is currently working in BNHS on advocacy as a tool in Great Indian Bustard conservation.

Noor I. Khan has been working as Scientific Associate Officer at BNHS since 2006 for the Important Bird Areas (IBA) and Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN) Programmes in India. He has collected and collated valuable data for several books such as Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in India: Priority Sites for Conservation;Ducks, Geese and Swans of India; Potential and Existing Ramsar sites in India; andThreatened Birds of India: Their Conservation Requirements. He did GIS-based species and habitat mapping for threatened birds. He has also worked on several projects, including 'Surveillance of Avian Diseases' and 'Monitoring for Avian Influenza in Wintering Birds of India'. He has contributed several scientific articles related to the conservation of globally threatened species, and international collaborations for biodiversity conservation.