The Birds of the Delhi Area by Sudhir Vyas | Book Review

“There are birds – common, uncommon or rare, resident or migrant – anywhere and everywhere in the Delhi Area. One just has to keep one’s eyes and ears open wherever one goes!”

Sudhir Vyas’s The Birds of the Delhi Area provides a superb insight into broader aspects of the birds seen – beyond identification – to contextualize their presence in the Delhi area, their habitat, distribution and to sum up the current state of our knowledge of their status, and changes in status over the past decades.

An updated, thoroughly researched and annotated checklist of the birds of the National Capital Territory and the surrounding areas that can be covered within a day’s birding excursion from the city, this is an indispensable book for bird watchers in and around Delhi as well as those interested in the avifauna of one of India’s bird-rich regions.

I am not a bird watcher but have caught the occasional presence of an uncommon bird or two on the tree branch visible from the window of our veranda. When the publisher reached out with details of this book, I was intrigued enough to request a review copy, despite it not being my usual reading fare.

The first thing to catch my attention was that Delhi is one of the most bird-rich capitals in the world with the area home to 471 species of birds, excluding the 22 that have not been recorded since 1975. It is also host to an almost continuous stream of mostly amateur ornithologists recording their observations of the area’s birdlife since the previous century, more so since the creation of New Delhi as India’s capital.

The book is structured as a reference guide on the innumerable species of birds in Delhi. After a brief introduction, the author begins by detailing the topography of the area and its changing environment over time with growing urbanisation.

He then delves into the history of birding in the city from the late 1800s to growing interest in the 1990s and how amateur contributions have evolved today with access to good digital and optical equipment.

The book includes maps of the physical area stretching from the ridge to the Aravallis, the river floodplains and the Haryana wetlands.

Finally, the book groups the birds in Delhi by classification which are then further categorised into their individual species. The author meticulously details each species with their primary seasonal occurance, relative abundance, migration patterns, and status in the area. The text is supported by stunning HD colour images of the birds in their natural habitat.

Picking up the book was a little overwhelming for me at first but once I began reading, I was absorbed by the incredible detail in this book. The information is only as scientific as one needs and it is relatively easy for a bird-watching beginner to refer to as much as the career-ornithologist. This book is also a great reference for children to be introduced to bird watching especially when visiting spots in and around Delhi.

A beautifully presented checklist of Delhi’s birds, this is a superb companion for your birding escape from the hustle and bustle, as well as a starter kit to get into bird-watching.

The Birds of the Delhi Area by Sudhir Vyas. Photographs by Amit Sharma and others. Published in July 2023 by Indian Pitta, an imprint of Juggernaut Books. This ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Book 28 of 2023.

Aquamarine Flavours Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟.

Available on Amazon*.

About Photo: I have always been fascinated by the Kingfisher for its bright colours and had no idea it was a commonly seen bird in Delhi.

This 3d papercraft model of the Kingfisher is cut from 230gsm ivory paper using a template by Canon Creative Park.

About the Author: A career diplomat, now retired, Sudhir Vyas has pursued his passion for birdwatching for over 50 years around Delhi, elsewhere in India, and overseas as well, including in some of India’s neighbouring countries that he had the opportunity to serve in. He knows the birds of Delhi well, and has authored several articles and studies on the ornithology of the Delhi area. He is also the author of a monograph on the subject published in the scholarly journal Indian Birds.

 

About the Photographer: A wildlife and bird photographer who has documented 377 avian species in Haryana and over a thousand internationally, Amit Sharma’s work has featured in books such as the Birds of Haryana and 100 Best Birdwatching Sites in India, as well as in leading national newspapers. He has photographed some of the rarest birds seen in the Delhi region. Internationally, his work on documenting Ethiopian wildlife has featured in a wildlife film broadcast on Ethiopia’s national TV network. An adventure enthusiast at heart, he also enjoys trekking and has climbed three 6,000-metre peaks in India.

You can find him on Instagram and Twitter.

 

Note: This blogpost is a top post on Indiblogger.in and Blogchatter and has appeared on their homepages.

---

*Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link which means, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.