Jivanayakam Cyril Daniel (b. Nagercoil), or J.C., as he is known^[1], is an Indian naturalist, and the author of several acclaimed books on birds, mammals and reptiles. Nagercoil (Tamil: நாகர்கோவில்) is a city and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ...

Life and work

His tryst with nature began as a young boy. His childhood memories include jackals howling into the night, to the accompaniment of the haunting calls of Hawk Owls. His mother's empathy towards animals and his father's scholarly pursuits encouraged him to frequent Trivandrum's excellent public library, where books on African wildlife whetted his budding curiosity for the natural world. Influenced early in his life by Dr. Sálim Ali, he has had a long association with the Bombay Natural History Society, where he served as a curator from 1950, and was then its first Director. After retirement in 1991, he was promptly elected an Honorary Member and was also its Honorary Secretary. Indian Coffee House Thiruvananthapuram or Thiruvanathapuram (formerly known as Trivandrum) is the capital (population - 889,191 (2001)) of the state of Kerala, India. ... The Bombay Natural History Society is the largest organisation engaged in conservation research in the Indian subcontinent. ...

His books include The Book of Indian Reptiles (OUP), A Century of Natural History and Conservation in Developing Countries. He has co-authored Indian Wildlife - Insight Guides Lion Section. He revised The Book of Indian Birds by Salim Ali for the 12th edition^[2], brought out on the birth centenary of Salim Ali in 1996. Salim Ali may refer to: Salim Ali, (1896-1987) Indian ornithologist Salim Ali, an alias of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, reported military head of Al Qaeda This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

He is also Executive Editor of the Society's journal and the initiator of the Hornbill magazine, which celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 2001. Genera Aceros Anorrhinus Anthracoceros Buceros Bucorvus Ceratogymna (=Bycanistes) Ocyceros Penelopides Tockus Hornbills (Family Bucerotidae) are a group of birds whose bill is shaped like a cows horn, but without a twist, sometimes with a casque on the upper mandible. ...

References

1. ^ J.C. Daniel: Naturalist extraordinaire. Sanctuary Asia Interviews (April 2000). Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
2. ^ Ali, Salim; JC Daniel (1983). The book of Indian Birds, Twelfth Centenary edition. Bombay Natural History Society/Oxford University Press.