A Field Guide to the Birds of Southwestern India

R.J. Ranjit Daniels was born on June 5, 1959 in Nagercoil – a small hill-town in the southern Western Ghats. Encouraged by his parents, he pursued his interest in nature watching and drawing animals, especially birds. The many pets that he raised during his early years, that included amongst others frogs, were his greatest source of inspiration and learning. The graduation from hobby to profession took place many years later in 1989 after a short visit to Panama. After being awarded a doctoral degree in 1990 by the Indian Institute of Science for his study of birds of the Western Ghats, Ranjit Daniels pursued his post-doctoral research on amphibians. He moved to Chennai in 1992 and over the past decade has traveled in the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats nad the Great Nicobar Island studying amphibians and other lower vertebrates (fish and reptiles). In Chennai, he has served as the Research Scientist at the Madras Crocodile Bank, as Honorary Secretary at the Chennai Snake Park and also as Principal Scientific Officer (Biodiversity and Biotechnology) and Chair (Biodiversity) at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation. He founded Care Earth in June 2000 and has since been serving as the Director of this young organization that is dedicated to biodiversity research and training.