Introduction to the Feather Library
The Feather Library is a pioneering initiative, the first of its kind in India and the world, dedicated to documenting, identifying, and studying the flight feathers of Indian birds.
This website has been set up as the database for the documented feathers. It is open to all and has easy access to feather plates, data regarding the species, wingspan, number of feathers, various other measurements and the bird’s location. This wealth of information will prove invaluable to ornithologists, Forest department staff, researchers, and seasoned bird watchers, and it will even ignite a passion in budding birders. The main aim is to have all of this data under one roof, fostering collaboration and advancing our collective understanding of Indian birds. Our long-term goal is to expand and gradually cover all of India, a vision that holds immense promise for the future of bird study.
We gather bird specimens from deceased birds at rescue centres to establish a primary database of bird species. All birds are confirmed deceased by veterinarians, after which their feathers are measured and documented.
We aim to create and maintain a database of the various bird species in India. Thus far, we have documented over 135 species from Gujarat and Karnataka, including a few migratory rarities. We make detailed notes on the flight feathers, taking into account the number of Primaries, Secondaries, Tertials (Wing Feathers), and Rectrices (Tail Feathers), along with basic bird details such as overall length, bill length and width, leg lengths up to the digits, etc.
Additionally, we fully stretch out one wing and fan the tail in both dorsal and ventral views. This provides valuable data on the exact number of feathers, any changes in shape, and any unique characteristics, colour, pattern, and size. The collected feathers are sorted by type and arranged on a plate for easy viewing and comparison.
The physical collection is currently housed at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, where it will be used for further research and analysis in the fields of science and nature education.
Team Feather Library
Esha Munshi (Founder)
Sherwin Everett (Co-founder)
TEAM
Esha Munshi
Founder
Esha Munshi, originally trained as an architect, devoted 15 years to the profession before shifting her focus to the Feather Library, an initiative she established. With over a decade of experience as a bird watcher and citizen scientist, she has seen 1086 bird species in the Indian Subcontinent and over 1500 worldwide.
Her emphasis lies in capturing bird sounds, having recorded over 700 species. Notably, her recording of the Marsh Babbler ranked among the top 30 sounds out of one million on eBird. Furthermore, 42 of her bird sounds have been featured on the Merlin App, where she also contributes as a sound annotator for the Sound ID feature.
In the summer of 2021, she completed the Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology course, preceding the founding of Feather Library on November 15, 2021—marking a significant milestone for Indian Birds. Subsequently, in March 2022, Esha sought certification in taxidermy and the creation of round-skin museum specimens of birds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Now based in Bangalore, she serves as an associate curator of birds at the National Centre for Biological Sciences while continuing to nurture the growth of Feather Library.
Sherwin Everett
Co-founder
Our co-founding member, Sherwin Everett, works at an avian hospital in Ahmedabad. The hospital receives around 1500-2000 birds per month, mostly pigeons, kites and crows, but also several other common and rare species. A number of the birds succumb to their injuries and stress, after which their bodies are discarded to the local corporation for disposal. He felt that this was a colossal pool of data just going to waste, literally. We decided to use this opportunity and began documenting feathers from birds that were declared dead by vets.
Vishal Mistry
Team Member
Vishal is from Vaso village of Kheda District, Gujarat, India. He is a naturalist, birder and wildlife researcher. Previously he has worked on different projects on Sarus Cranes, Vultures, Wild Ass, Forest Owlet, Indian Wolf, Flamingos, Odonates, Arachnids, Mugger Crocodiles, Dugong etc. with different organisations like SACON, Anand Agriculture University, Wildlife Institute Of India, BNHS, Nature Club Surat, Jivdaya Charitable Trust, WWF-India and Voluntary Nature Conservancy.
Mital Patel
Team Member
He is a professional photographer. He has been photographing birds since 2009.
Pradyuman Sindha
Team Member
Pradyuman is from Bharuch District, Gujarat, India. He is a wildlife researcher and Drone pilot. Previously he has worked on Sarus cranes, Mugger Crocodile, Dugong, Great Indian bustard etc. With organisations like the Wildlife Institute of India, Wildlife conservation society and voluntary nature conservancy.
Vyom Vyas
Volunteer
Vyom is in the final phase of his schooling years and since he has developed a keen interest in Ornithology and wishes to pursue a career in the same field in the future. He has developed an interest in bird watching since the age of 13 years.
Pratham Shah
Volunteer
He is a student studying in 11th Standard. For many years he has served at Jivdaya Charitable Trust as a volunteer. He wishes to pursue his career in Avian Biology.
Aryah
Volunteer
Aryah is a Natural history photographer specailizing in photomicrography and an Adobe certified editor. She collaborates with scientists to image unknown stories about the natural world. She used to document bird species and migration for krishnagiri district before deciding to pursue her career as a photographer and scientific communicator. She is currently studying filmmaking and also doing her Ornithology: Comprehensive bird biology course.
Saswat Mishra
Team Member
Saswat Mishra has been documenting birds from a young age and birdwatching was always a passion of his. By education he is a M.Tech in Electrical Engineering. He belongs to the state of Odisha but he is currently a Resident of Silvassa (U.T of D&NH). He is currently focused on conservation work of Forest Owlets throughout India and documenting them for various projects by Govt. Of India (Ministry of Environment)
Aamir Matli
Team Member
Aamir Matli is from Bhavnagar and he has been birding since 2016 when he was doing his bachelor’s in zoology from Bhavnagar. He competed his Masters in wildlife conservation this year from Vadodara. He is a naturalist, researcher and an avid brider. He is currently studying the behavioral Ecology of certain species of birds, especially shorebirds.
Binanda Hatibourah
Team Member
He is a one of the best professional bird guides for north-eastern India birds and has been leading birding tours from 2010. He is based near Maguri beel in Gottong gaon, Tinsukia, Assam.
Chirag Tank
Volunteer
Professionally a banker and a wildlife rescuer since last 20 years in Porbandar. A birder and a rescuer in Porbandar region.
R B Modhvadiya
Volunteer
A forest guard, a wildlife rescuer and a birder since last 6 to 7 years in Porbandar region.
Harmenn Huidrom
Team Member
Harmenn is based in Manipur. He has been into birds and wildlife since 2009. His knowledge of North-eastern birds is commendable. He is a distant contributor to the feather library.