K. S. R. Krishna Raju (11 March 1948 – 22 July 2002) was an Indian

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

who worked extensively in the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

Vishakapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

. He conducted multiple avifaunal surveys, ringed birds and collaborated with other ornithologists including Dillon Ripley and

Salim Ali Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali (12 November 1896 – 20 June 1987) was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist. Sometimes referred to as the "Birdman of India", Salim Ali was the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and wrot ...

. His studies provided weight to the Satpura hypothesis proposed by

Sunder Lal Hora Sunder Lal Hora (22 May 1896 – 8 December 1955) was an Indian ichthyologist known for his biogeographic theory on the affinities of Western Ghats and Indomalayan fish forms. Life Hora was born at Hafizabad in the Punjab (modern da ...

that the Eastern Ghats was part of a former continuum of habitats between the northeast of India and the Western Ghats with affinities to those in Southeast Asia. A subspecies of

Abbott's babbler Abbott's babbler (''Malacocincla abbotti'') is a species of bird in the family Pellorneidae. It is widely distributed along the Himalayas in South Asia and extending into the forests of Southeast Asia. They are short-tailed and stout birds which ...

, ''Malacocincla abbotti krishnarajui'', discovered around Visakhapatnam Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, was named in his honour, "for his efforts to promote the survey and conservation of the natural resources of the Eastern Ghats."

Biography

Krishna Raju was born on 11 March 1948 to K.V.V. Gopala Raju and Sita Devi. He was a brother of the journalist K. N. Y. Patanjali. Raju joined the

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publ ...

(BNHS) as a field biologist at

Point Calimere Kodiakkarai also called Point Calimere or Cape Calimere, is a low headland of the Coromandel Coast, in the Nagapattinam district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Cape is located about south of Vedaranyam in the delta region of the C ...

and worked with

S. A. Hussain Syed Abdulla Hussain (13 August 1944 – 30 December 2009) was an Indian ornithologist. He is best known for the work he undertook at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) along with Salim Ali. A species of frog ''Nyctibatrachus hussaini'' fr ...

and was a pioneering Indian bird ringer. In 1971, he set up a bird banding camp at Lambasingi village in the Eastern ghats of Andhra Pradesh where, he along with Selvin Justus discovered the presence of the

little spiderhunter The little spiderhunter (''Arachnothera longirostra'') is a species of long-billed nectar-feeding bird in the family Nectariniidae found in the moist forests of South and Southeast Asia. Unlike typical sunbirds, males and females are very similar ...

a species then known to be isolated in the Western Ghats and found again only in northeastern India and Southeast Asia. In 1975, Raju joined a team of BNHS members on a study expedition in the Eastern ghats of Vishakapatnam. In 1981 and again in 1983, Raju accompanied Dillon Ripley and

for short collection trips. During these trips, they mist-netted an Abbott's babbler, a species the known only from north-east in India and Southeast Asia. This relict population was found to be distinctive and was described as a subspecies that named was after Krishna Raju by

Bruce Beehler Bruce McPherson Beehler (born October 11, 1951, in Baltimore) is an ornithologist and research associate of the Bird Division of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Prior to this appointment, Beehler worked for Conse ...

and Dillon Ripley as ''Malacocincla abbotti krishnarajui''. This was yet another species that gave weight to the Satpura hypothesis suggested by the Indian zoologist Sunder Lal Hora to explain the faunal similarities of Peninsular India and that of Southeast Asia. Raju continued his efforts in conservation of the Eastern ghats through his publishing efforts until his death.

Publications

Krishna Raju's publications include: * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raju, KSR Indian ornithologists 1948 births 2002 deaths Scientists from Visakhapatnam 20th-century Indian zoologists Members of the Bombay Natural History Society