him the title of emeritus naturalist in recognition of his work at the BNHS. Specimen collections Humayun Abdulali collected specimens from in and around Bombay as well as from as far as the Andaman and Nicobar islands and added to the BNHS collection, which is now estimated to have around 50,000 specimens of reptiles, mammals, amphibians, and insects, and approximately 29,000 specimens of birds. He contributed about 3,000 bird specimens to the collection, now at the Bird Room of the BNHS. He played a crucial role in obtaining a grant for the housing and maintenance of the collection from the government of Maharashtra. After Humayun's tenure as the Honorary Secretary ended in 1962, he focused on re-examining and re-structuring the collection at BNHS. His studies resulted in the identification of 18 new sub-species. The catalogue, titled "Catalogue of the Birds in the Collection of the Bombay Natural History Society", was published in the Journal of the BNHS between 1968 and 1996. After his death, the Bird Room at the BNHS was named after him. Humayun contributed greatly to the production of the Handbook of Salim Ali and Dillon Ripley. Work in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands From 1963 to 1977, he made eight trips to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, accompanied by various people on different trips—colleagues from BNHS, researchers, assistants from the Zoological Survey of India, his son Akbar, etc. The aim of the expeditions to the archipelago of around 225 islands was to gather specimens of unknown subspecies, or of subspecies that were till then taxonomically documented as merely "Andamans" or "Nicobars" or "Andamans and Nicobars". Several specimens were obtained during these trips and added to the collection of BNHS: The Otus alius (Nicobar scops owl), the Nicobar pigeon, the Narcondam hornbill, other birds, fruit bats, flying foxes, frogs, toads, lizards, snakes, etc. His observations were published in the Journal of the BNHS, which brought to light the nature of fauna in the islands. Humayun drew attention to the need to conserve the forests and biodiversity at the Andaman and Nicobar islands, particularly Barren Island, Narcondam Island and the Battye Malve Island. The Indian Navy ceased shooting practice at the Battye Malve, a nesting place of the Nicobar Pigeon, after Humayun made a representation to the navy during one of the trips. He also highlighted the flaws and pitfalls in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. These lacunae led