Bombay Natural History Society 264765 215907934 2008-05-30T06:13:46Z DumZiBoT 6085301 robot Modifying: [[fr:Bombay natural history society]] [[Image:BNHSimage national geographic.jpg|thumb|Hornbill House, headquarters of BNHS]] The '''Bombay Natural History Society''', founded in 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research.<ref>[http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/asian/india/resources/india-organizations.html ''Organizations: India'']. US Library of Congress, Portals to the World. Retrieved 3 December 2006.</ref> It supports many research efforts through grants, and publishes the [[Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society]]. Many prominent naturalists, including the ornithologists [[Salim Ali (ornithologist)|Salim Ali]] and [[S. Dillon Ripley]] have been associated with it.<ref>[http://www.bnhs.org/article.php?cid=MTU=&sid=MA%3D%3D&t=Mg==&aid=MQ%3D%3D BNHS:Mission and Vision], Bombay Natural History Society. Retrieved 3 December 2006.</ref> The society is commonly known by its initials, BNHS. ==History== [[Image:JPNHS titlepage1a.jpg|right|thumb|Title page of volume 1, number 1, of the ''[[Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society]]'', 1886.]] On [[September 15]], [[1883]] eight residents of Bombay met in the then Victoria and Albert Museum (now [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum]]) and {{cquote|constituted themselves as the Bombay Natural History Society. They proposed to meet monthly and exchange notes, exhibit interesting specimens and otherwise encourage each other.}} According to [[Edward Hamilton Aitken|E. H. Aitken]] (the first Honorary Secretary, September 1883-March 1886), Dr G. A. Maconochie was the ''fons et origo'' of the Society. The other founders were Dr D. MacDonald, [[Charles Swinhoe|Col. C. Swinhoe]], Mr J. C. Anderson, Mr J. Johnston, Dr Atmaram Pandurang and Dr Sakharam Arjun.<ref>Rachel Reuben (2005) The Indian Founders. ''Hornbill'' (Apr-Jun):pp.13-15</ref> 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. 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. 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<ref>Newton, Paul & Matt Ridley. Biology under the Raj. New Scientist. (22 September 1983) pp. 857-867</ref>. 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 (bird activity)|anting]]'' into English. Today the BNHS is headquartered in the specially constructed ''Hornbill House'' is Southern [[Mumbai]]. 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''. ==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<ref name=phipson-william>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.</ref>. 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]]. He reached his full length ({{ft to m|4.25|abbrev=yes|precision=2}} 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<ref name=phipson-william/>. He apparently did not drink water, nor use it for bathing<ref name=phipson-william/>. William was also known for catching tennis balls thrown at him from a distance of some thirty feet with his beak<ref name=phipson-william/>. In his obituary of W. S. Millard, Sir [[Norman Boyd Kinnear|Norman Kinnear]] made the following remarks about William:<ref name=kinnear>Kinnear, N.B. 1952. "W. S. Millard" ''Journal of Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.'' '''50''':910-913.</ref> {{cquote|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.'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.}} <Center> <Gallery> Image:Buceros bicornis -illustration in book.jpg|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. Image:William office canary2.jpg‎|Another photograph of "William," by E. Comber published in the ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 1897. Image:BNHS membership1939A.jpg|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. Image:BNHSlogo.gif|The new logo of the "Bombay Natural History Society India" was created in 2004. </Gallery> </Center> ==References== <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:1; column-count:1;"> <references/> </div> ==See also== * [[:Category:Conservation_in_India|Conservation in India]] ==External links== * [http://www.bnhs.org/ Official Site] [[Category:Animal charities]] [[Category:Charities based in India]] [[Category:Conservation in India]] [[Category:Environmental organisations based in India]] [[Category:Natural history of India]] [[Category:Birdlife International national partners]] [[Category:1883 establishments]] [[es:Bombay Natural History Society]] [[fr:Bombay natural history society]] [[ta:பம்பாய் இயற்கை வரலாற்று சங்கம்]]