Author Description

To mark their centenary, the Bombay Natural History Society has compiled a one-volume encyclopedia devoted to the teeming plant and animal life of the entire subcontinent: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Bhutan and Nepal. Written in an easily accessible style, the encyclopedia includes over 550 articles by 96 contributors in 22 subject categories, each edited by a well-known authority. There are richly illustrated entries on general topics such as altruistic behavior, mating systems, animal communication and parasites; on the more commonly known flora and fauna of India, including tigers, pythons, rubber trees, bamboos and elephants; and on exotica such as Bandicoot rats, dugongs, skinks, mudskippers and flying snakes. Revealing the vast range and complexity of life forms and all their wonderful adaptations, the Encyclopedia of Indian Natural History provides general readers, students and conservationists with a fascinating and informative survey of one of the most exotic natural habitats in the world.