Biswamoy Biswas was an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n ornithologist who was born in Calcutta, the son of a professor of Geology. In 1947, he was awarded a three year fellowship by Sunderlal Hora, then director of the Zoological Survey of India

Zoological Survey of India

The Zoological Survey of India is a premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies. It was established on 1 July 1916 to promote the survey, exploration and research of the fauna in the region...

 (ZSI). It enabled him to study at the British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

, at the Berlin Zoological Museum under Erwin Stresemann

Erwin Stresemann

Erwin Stresemann was a German naturalist and ornithologist.Stresemann was one of the outstanding ornithologists of the 20th century...

 and also at the American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...

 under Ernst Mayr

Ernst Mayr

Ernst Walter Mayr was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, historian of science, and naturalist...

.

He received a Ph.D. in 1952 from the University of Calcutta

University of Calcutta

The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...

. He was part of the Daily Mail

Daily Mail

The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

 expedition sent to look for the Yeti

Yeti

The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...

 around Mount Everest

Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...

 in 1954. He was elected Corresponding Fellow of The American Ornithologists' Union in 1963. He later took charge of the Bird and Mammal Section of the Zoological Survey of India

Zoological Survey of India

The Zoological Survey of India is a premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies. It was established on 1 July 1916 to promote the survey, exploration and research of the fauna in the region...

. He won Chapman Grants from the American Ornithologists' Union in 1965, 1966 and 1970, for research at the British Museum. Later, he was Joint Director of the ZSI, until he retired in 1981, and then Emeritus Scientist until 1986.

Some of his landmark works were on the birds of Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

 and Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

.

A flying squirrel species Biswamoyopterus biswasi is named in his honour.

Publications

• Biswas, B. (1947): Notes on a collection of birds from the Darrang District, Assam. Records of the Indian Museum. 45: 225-244.

• Biswas, B. (1947): On a collection of birds from Rajputana. Records of the Indian Museum. 45: 245-265.

• Biswas, B. (1950): On the taxonomy of some Asiatic Pygmy Woodpeckers. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of Bengal. 3(1): 1-37.

• Biswas, B. (1950): The Himalayan races of the Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes (Linne.) [Aves]. Journal of the Zoological Society of India. 2(1): 26.

• Biswas, B. (1950): The generic limits of Treron Vieillot. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club. 70(5): 34.

• Biswas, B. (1951): Revisions of Indian birds. American Museum Novitates. 1500: 1-12.

• Biswas, B. (1951): Notes on the taxonomic status of the Indian Plaintive Cuckoo Cuculus passerinus Vahl. Ibis. 93(4): 596-598.

• Biswas, B. (1951): On some Larger Spine-tailed Swifts, with the description of a new subspecies (Chaetura cochinensis rupchandi) from Nepal. Ardea. 39(4): 318-321.

• Biswas, B. (1952): Geographical variation in the woodpecker Picus flavinucha Gould. Ibis. 94(2): 210-219.

• Biswas, B. (1953): Fauna of the Balangir District (formerly Patna State), Orissa. II. Birds. Records of the Indian Museum. 51: 416-419.

• Biswas, B. (1954): Fauna of the Balangir District (formerly Patna State) Orissa. Birds. Records of the Indian Museum. 51: 416-419.

• Biswas, B. (1954): A checklist of genera of Indian birds. Additions and corrections. Records of the Indian Museum. 54: 101-106a.

• Biswas, B. (1954): Review: The Birds of Travancore & Cochin. By Salim Ali
  Salim Ali
  Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist. Known as the "birdman of India", Salim Ali was among the first Indians to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and his bird books helped develop ornithology...
  
  , with 22 plates (16 in colour by D.V. Cowen). Pp. xx+668. (Oxford University Press) Bombay, 1953. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 52(2&3): 573-575.

• Biswas, B. (1955): Review: The Book of Indian Birds. By Salim Ali. 5th (Revised) edition. Pp. xlvi + 142, (7 1/4" x 4 3/4") 78 plates (56 in colour by D.V. Cowen), 3 diagrams and 2 end paper maps. Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay, 1955. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 53(1): 117-118.

• Biswas, B. (1955): Zoological results of the Daily Mail Himalayas Expedition 1954. Two new birds from Khumba, Eastern Nepal. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club. 75(7): 87-88.

• Biswas, B. (1958): Taxonomic status of the Blood Pheasants of Nepal and Sikkim. Journal of the Zoological Society of India. 10(1): 100-101.

• Biswas, B. (1959): A note on the correct zoological name of the Indian Little Green Heron (Aves, Ardeidae). Current Science. 28: 288.

• Biswas, B. (1960): A new name for the Himalayan Red-winged Babbler, Pteruthius. Bulletin of the British Ornithological Union. 80(6): 106.

• Biswas, B. (1961): Proposal to designate a neotype for Corvus benghalensis Linnaeus, 1758 (Aves), under the plenary powers Z.N. (S) 1465. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 18(3): 217-219.

• Biswas, B. (1962): The birds of Nepal. Part 8. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 59(3): 807-821.

• Biswas, B. (1962): Further notes on the Shrikes Lanius tephronotus and Lanius schach. Ibis. 104(1): 112-115.

• Biswas, B. (1962): Review: A Synopsis of the Birds of India and Pakistan. By Sidney Dillon Ripley II. pp. xxxvi+703 (23x15.5 cm.). Bombay, 1961. Bombay Natural History Society. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 59(1): 276-278.

• Biswas, B. (1973): Report of the Indian national section. Bulletin of the International Council for Bird Preservation. 11: 238-239.

• Biswas, B. (1983): Additional notes on birds recorded on 1954 'Daily Mail' Himalayan Expedition. Unpublished.

• Biswas, B. (?): Comments on Ripley's A Synopsis of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Part 2. Unpublished manuscript.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1950): On the Shrike Lanius tephronotus (Vigors), with remarks on the erythronotus and tricolor groups of Lanius schach Linne, and their hybrids. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 49(3): 444-455.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1951): A new race of the Ground-Thrush Turdus citrinus (Aves: Turdidae). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 49(4): 661-662.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1952): A checklist of genera of Indian birds. Records of the Indian Museum. 50(1): 1-62.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1956): A Large Indian Kite Milvus migrans lineatus (Gray) with a split bill. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 53(3): 474-475.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1959): On the validity of Harpactes erythrocephalus hodgsoni (Gould) [Aves: Trogonidae]. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 56(2): 335-338.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1959): On the Parakeet, Psittacula intermedia (Rothschild) [Aves: Psittacidae]. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 56(3): 558-562.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1960): The birds of Nepal. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 57(2): 278-308.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1960): The birds of Nepal. Part 2. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 57(3): 516-546.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1961): The birds of Nepal. Part 3. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 58(1): 100-134.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1961): The birds of Nepal. Part 4. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 58(2): 441-474.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1961): The birds of Nepal. Part 5. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 58(3): 653-677.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1962): The birds of Nepal. Part 6. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 59(1): 200-227.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1962): The birds of Nepal. Part 7. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 59(2): 405-429.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1963): The birds of Nepal. Part 9. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 60(1): 173-200.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1963): The birds of Nepal. Part 10. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 60(2): 388-399.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1963): The birds of Nepal. Part 11. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 60(3): 638-654.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1963): Review: Comments on Ripley's "A Synopsis of the Birds of India and Pakistan". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 60(3): 679-689.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1966): The birds of Nepal. Part 12. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 63(2): 365-377.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1968): The female of Molesworth's Tragopan Tragopan blythi molesworthi (Baker). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 65(1): 216-217.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1968): Some new bird records for Nepal. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 65(3): 782-784.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1969): Review: Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, Vol. 1. By Salim Ali and S. Dillon Ripley. pp. lviii+380 (16.7 x 24.7 cm.). 18 coloured plates. Bombay, 1968. Oxford University Press. Price Rs. 90. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 66(1): 152-154.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1969): Review: Birds of Kerala (second edition of The Birds of Travancore and Cochin). By Salim Ali. pp. xxiii+444 (16.5 x 24 cm.) + 22 plates (16 in colour by D.V. Cowen) + many pen-and-ink sketches+end-paper maps. Bombay, 1969. Oxford University Press. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 66(2): 372-373.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1972): Review: Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Vol. 6. By Salim Ali and S. Dillon Ripley. pp. xvi+245 (24x16 cm) with 8 coloured plates and numerous black-and-white illustrations. Bombay, 1971. Oxford University Press. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 69(2): 400-401.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1974): Zoological results of the Daily Mail Himalayan Expedition 1954: Notes on some birds of Eastern Nepal. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 71(3): 456-495.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1978): Review: Field Guide to the Birds of the Eastern Himalayas. By Salim Ali. pp. xvi+263 (11.8x18 cm). With 37 coloured plates. Delhi, 1977. Oxford University Press. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 75(3): 915-916.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1985): Review: Comments on Ripley's "A Synopsis of the Birds of India and Pakistan" - Second Edition (1982). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 82(1): 126-129.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1986): Review: A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. By Salim Ali & S. Dillon Ripley. Pp. 117+106 plates (73 in colour, 33 monochrome), (18.5 cm x 24.7 cm) with plates by John Henry Dick. New Delhi, 1983. Bombay Natural History Society & Oxford University Press. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 83(2): 412-414.

• Biswas, Biswamoy (1989): Taxonomic status of Psittacula intermedia (Rothschild). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 86(3): 448.

External links

• http://www.zoonomen.net/bio/biob.html