Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan


The Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan is the magnum opus of Indian ornithologist Salim Ali, written along with S. Dillon Ripley. Appended to the title is the phrase "together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Sri Lanka". The 10 volume work, often referred to as "the handbook", was started in 1964 and ended in 1974. A single volume "compact edition" of the book was also produced and a supplementary illustrative work A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent with illustrations by John Henry Dick, co-authored with Dillon Ripley, was published in 1983. The plates from this supplement were incorporated in the second edition of the "Handbook". The second edition was completed by others, notably of the BNHS, Bruce Beehler, Michel Desfayes and Pamela Rasmussen, after the deaths of Ali in 1987 and Ripley in 2001.

Volumes

The following is a list of official volumes and publication dates:
  1. –
  2. * Loons; Grebes; Petrels & Shearwaters; Tropicbirds; Pelicans; Boobies; Cormorants & Darter; Frigate birds; Herons, Egrets, Bitterns; Storks; Ibises & Spoonbill; Flamingos; Ducks, Geese, Swans; Hawks, Eagles, Vultures etc.
  3. – Megapodes to Crab Plover
  4. * Megapodes; Pheasants, Partridges, Francolins, Quails, Peafowls etc.; Button-quails; Cranes; Rails, Crakes & Coots; Finfoots; Bustards; Jacanas; Oystercatchers; Plovers & Lapwings; Sandpipers, Snipes, Godwits, Stints etc.; Phalaropes; Snipes; Stilts, Avocets, Ibisbills; Crab plovers
  5. – Stone Curlews to Owls
  6. * Stone-curlews or Thick-knees; Coursers & Pratincoles; Skuas & Jaegars; Gulls & Terns; Sandgrouses; Pigeons & Doves; Parrots; Cuckoos; Barn owls; Owls
  7. – Frogmouths to Pittas
  8. * Frogmouths; Nightjars; Swifts; Trogons; Kingfishers; Bee-eaters; Rollers; Hoopoes; Hornbills; Barbets; Honeyguides; Wrynecks; Piculets; Woodpeckers; Broadbills; Pittas
  9. – Larks to the Grey Hypocolius
  10. * Larks; Swallows & Martins; Shrikes; Orioles; Drongos; Wood-swallows; Mynas & Starlings; Crows, Jays, Treepies; Waxwings
  11. – Cuckoo-Shrikes to Babaxes
  12. *Cuckooshrikes & Minivets; Fairy Bluebirds, Ioras, Leafbirds; Bulbuls; Babblers
  13. – Laughing Thrushes to the Mangrove Whistler
  14. * Laughing thrushes, Shrike-babblers, Tit-babblers, Sibias; Flycatchers
  15. – Warblers to Redstarts
  16. * Tesias; Bush-warblers; Prinias; Tailor birds; Grassbirds; Warblers; Leaf warblers; Shortwings, Thrushes, Chats & Redstarts
  17. – Robins to Wagtails
  18. * Chats, Forktails, Whistling-thrushes, Thrushes; Wrens; Dippers; Accentors; Tits; Nuthatches; Creepers; Pipits & Wagtails)
  19. – Flowerpeckers to Buntings
  20. * Flowerpeckers; Sunbirds; White-eyes; House & Rock Sparrows; Weaverbirds & Bayas; Avadavats & Munias; Goldfinches & Allies; Buntings