to difficulties in obtaining permissions for gathering specimens at the islands for research. On the other hand, illegal killing and poaching of the animals protected by the Act continued to happen at the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago and elsewhere in the country. Taxa described by Humayun Abdulali Seventeen bird subspecies were described by Abdulali, but some of these may no longer be considered valid. These include: The Andaman sub-species of the black baza, Andaman crested baza, Aviceda leuphotes andamanica Jungle bush-quail, Perdicula asiatica vellorei Great Nicobar whitebreasted waterhen, Amaurornis phoenicurus midnicobaricus Andaman cuckoo-dove, Macropygia rufipennis andamanica Great Nicobar form of the Andaman cuckoo-dove, Macropygia rufipennis tiwarii Andaman green imperial pigeon, Ducula aenea andamanica Great Nicobar hawkowl, Ninox affinis rexpimenti (Named for Rex Pimento, the In-charge of the bird collection at the BNHS) Fairy bluebird, Irena puella andamanica Eastern Ghats form of the puff-throated babbler, Pellorneum ruficeps pallidum Eastern Finn's baya, Ploceus megarhynchus salimalii Great Nicobar form of the Asian glossy starling, Aplonis panayensis albiris Andaman form of the black-hooded oriole, Oriolus xanthornus reubeni Nicobar slaty-breasted rail, Rallus striatus nicobarensis Car Nicobar white-breasted waterhen, Amaurornis phoenicurus leucocephalus Alpine swift, Apus melba dorabtatai. Now Tachymarpis melba dorabtatai. Oriental skylark, Alauda gulgula dharmakumarsinhjii White-throated tawny-bellied babbler, Dumetia hyperythra navarroi Wildlife protection and conservation Bombay Wild Birds and Wild Animals Act, 1951 Before India achieved independence in 1947, about 750 princely states in the country protected and preserved the local wildlife. With independence, poaching became rampant and new legislation to protect wildlife became a pressing necessity. A bill for the required law was drafted by Humayun Abdulali, who was then the Honorary Secretary of the BNHS, and J.A. Singh, a retired Chief Conservator of Forests. The Government of Bombay passed the Bombay Wild Birds and Wild Animals Act, which included areas designated as forests and those outside them, in 1951. It came into force in Bombay on 1 May 1953. A Special Wildlife Protection Officer and several Honorary Game Wardens, equipped with police powers, were appointed under the new law to patrol forest areas. After a tamarind tree that housed egrets was chopped down within the premises of the BSES in Mumbai, Humayun, as the Honorary Warden, collected a fine from the Managing Director of BSES. For a few years after the implementation of the act, Humayun was an Honorary Game Warden with his authority spanning over the state of Maharashtra. Then his jurisdiction