It’s all about birds
Name of the book: Axamar Charai Prajyabekshanar Hatputhi
Writer: Soumyadeep Datta
Publisher: Banphool Prakashan
Pages: 192
Price: Rs 350
In marshy areas, open fields or among twigs, generations of Assam’s people have seen so many birds of various colours and sizes that they have given the winged creature a distinct place in their literature and culture.
Sparrows, doves, crows, parrots, common mynas, cranes and herons are a few species of locally available birds that most people know about. But, there are numerous others, chirping, singing and whistling in the bushes and jungles of Assam, escaping the notice of the common people.
Nature lover Soumyadeep Datta has collected names, pictures and descriptions of 300 different bird species available in Assam and compiled a beautiful handbook on bird watching, Axamar Charai Prajyabekshanar Hatputhi, making it a mine of information on local birds.
The book is equipped with basic information on each bird species in a systematic way, which can not only help an ornithologist, but even a common reader having little idea about birds. Characteristics and habitat of each bird are described along with their local, international and scientific names.
The writer, as he says in the preface, wants Assamese youths to earn a name at the international level as good birdwatchers, for which he has laid emphasis on the birds’ international names.
The set of beautiful colour photographs of all 300 birds and eggs of some of them is the most attractive feature of the book. Capturing them on film involved an arduous and time-consuming process, which was accomplished through the combined effort of 50 photographers.
A familiar name in Assam, Datta has been working on conservation of nature for years through his NGO Nature's Beckon. He started working on birds since 1980 and collected local names of different bird species available in Assam during this period.
Several chapters of the book describe separately the wings, legs, tails, bills, eggs, nests, eyesight and sense of smell of different bird species based on which a person can classify them. He gives readers the fundamental tips that he learned from years of fieldwork, to observe the characteristics of birds, while dropping hints about the differences between the male and the female of the species.
The book is indeed a must-read for aspiring birdwatchers.
RAJIV KONWAR
Published on November 11, 2011
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