Box MS-020 Box 4

Corrrespondence between Lainer and Pittie regarding Pittie's bibliography, supplying new references to Pittie; and birder pleasantries.

Forum posting on birding group regarding distribution of birds and birdwatchers in India also includes thoughts on survey methods such as lay birder checklists in Quebec (EPOC) and extensive volunteer surveys in North America (BBS). Mentions Aashesh Pittie's efforts to put together sightings as a way to contribute more individual data points for additional information on species.

Correspondence between Lelièvre and Pittie regarding references from Pittie's database and general information about birding associations / contacts in India.

Letter from Pittie to Lindsey asking permission to use Cuddappah and other AP lists for a paper authored by a friend.

Correspondence between Lott and Pittie with pleasantries and expressing Lott's wish to add slides of Jerdon's Courser to his collection by a visit; and Pittie regretfully informing Lott that the Conservator of Forests has refused access to the area for the same.

Letter from Victor with pleasantries.

Correspondence between Majumdar, asking for sight records of the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia ciconia), and Pittie replying regarding no personal records but a note in Mayura, and bibliographies on the bird.

Email correspondence (chain) between Pittie and Matthew with some enquiries regarding birding literature and Andrew Robertson's proposed newsletter on the Western Ghats; and general commentary on birding taxonomy and reception of nomenclatural changes.

General letter by Lt/Br McMullan seeking slides for woodpeckers (Piciformes picinae); letter in reply by Pittie enclosing slides and subsequent letter of thanks and asking for intimation re other help for McMullan's private collection of woodpecker slides.

Email correspondence from Meegama on the S Asia Natural History server regarding waterbody status and bird sightings in Andhra Pradesh.

Letter from Pittie requesting to be taken off the Editorial board of the Zoo’s Print Journal, where he was a referee for the ornithological papers.

Correspondence between Mundkur and Pittie on various birding matters and pleasantries. Topics include birdwatching observations (Narsapur, Tadoba, Rajkot et al), associations such as the Oriental Bird Club and birding journals (Mayura et al) and conversion of Pittie's Bibliography to an online version; Mundkar's work in the Gulf of Kachchh; observations, census counts and remarks on conservation of the Lesser Flamingo / Flamingo.

New Year's Greetings to Mr and Mrs A. Pittie

Correspondence between Pandey and Pittie, including greeting card, pleasantries as well as discussion on various birding matters. Topics included planned visits and visit descriptions (to places like Nandur-Madhmeshwar, Mussoorie), comments on seminars, articles and books, planned programmes. Mentions Sunjoy Monga and M.K. Srinath in passing.

Letter from Pittie to Peacock regarding design for construction of hides for birdwatching in ICRISAT and mention of birdwatching totals.

Email to mailing list from Penhallurick seeking information on Kaziranga National Park and contact with authors of article. Reply from Pittie with references from his database on Bhutan and Kaziranga.

Correspondence between Per Undeland and Pittie with pleasantries and regarding receipt of book and bird song cassette (in lieu of compensation for assistance on Hyderabad trip: refer to letter of 29 July, 1998 and 1 December, 1998 in Per, Alstrom)

Emails from Peterson forwarding queries made to Edward Dickinson (attached therewith) seeking to establish correct citations for bird taxons. References to Hodgson's work, centring on Buceros nipalensis (now Aceros nipalensis); and Treron pompadora chloropterus (Blyth).

Correspondence from Anand to Pittie with clarifications and comments regarding some references for Pittie's Indian Bibliography project. Also proposing a trade of his literature from the journal Sea Swallows for articles from the Newsletter for Birdwatchers.

Letter from Pratibha, painter acquainted with Salim Ali, to Pittie, regarding use of prints sent by her and pleasantries. Reference to series of 33 paintings covering 45 spp and 200 pen and ink sketches.

Correspondence between Prince and Pittie with information on Visakhapatnam for his proposed visit.

Correspondence between Ramakrishna of the Madras Naturalists' Society and Pittie as to the Red Data Book project and M.N.S. members' potential contribution. Mention of Dr V.S. Vijayan (Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology & Natural History) for complete list

Correspondence between Raha and Pittie regarding contacts, subscription to birding journals, and data for the Red Data Book questionnaire.

Correspondence between Rane and Pittie on various birding matters. Includes birding camp observations and encouraging words on birding observation; comments on birding notes and birding education; mentions Rane's impending marriage to Renee Borges, at that time researching Giant Squirrels; and further his plans for professional practice in landscape and environmental design in South India; mentions the demise of Mr Serrao.

Letter from Futehally to Rangaswami regarding approaching Suresh Prabhu, former Minister of Environment and then Minister of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, for support for wetland rehabilitation and conservation.

Correspondence between Rangaswami and Pittie around birding education and Rishi Valley Education Centre - Institute of Bird Studies and Natural History. It also includes mentions of Rangaswami's health crises and personal life changes, corrections and errata to course material, an article on Rishi Valley in the Spanish magazine Planeto HUMANO, and appreciation for PITTA as a one-of-a-kind Indian birding newsletter.

Clippings in correspondence between Pittie and Rangaswami - regarding spiritual experience of Krishnamurti at Rishi Valley; Rangaswami's letter to the editor of The Hindu regarding the letters of Charity, mention of a painting by G.F. Watts; speech by Radhika Herberger titled 'S. Rangaswami - The Naturalist : A Tribute'

Correspondence between Redman and Pittie regarding information on Rollapadu. Includes attachment of references extracted by Pittie. Mentions Ranjit Manakadan of BNHS working on Rollapadu's ecology.

Regarding Roberts’ review letter on note on circumorbital skin of the Grey Hornbill for JBNHS. Request to use sections in the (corrected) note and for clarification of some doubts.

Correspondence between Robertson and Pittie regarding exchange of subscriptions and additions to collection via supplying books or xeroxes.

Correspondence between Pittie and Robertson, mainly on how to proceed with the article with errata, additions and comments for the Nomenclature publication. Mention of S. Sridhar as publisher, Tim Inskipp's bibliography for Pittie's reference, and other research questions, and practical matters related to birding observations.

Letter from Pittie to Robertson regarding completion of Pittie's index, request for corrections and pleasantries

Correspondence between Robertson and Pittie regarding birding matters. Includes discussion of Red Data Book Species; Pittie's Index and Andhra Pradesh distribution map project.

Correspondence between Roy and Pittie regarding Roy's birding list of 108 birds for the area near Chikoti Gardens and Pittie's comments. Includes letter from Roy to the Editor of the Deccan Chronicle regarding his observations of the marshland with attached list of birds in the area.

Letter from Pittie with suggestions on Karthikeyan’s booklet.

Email correspondence between Sagar and Pittie on birding matters. Includes information from Sagar re Koshi Camp in Nepal; and Pittie seeking references from the region for his database, following his indexing of the Danphe publication.

Correspondence from Sankaran sharing report on the Edible-nest Swiftlet and seeking support for preservation and Pittie stating he will publish the letter in Pitta and expressing interest in Sankaran's newsletter issue on the Florican.

Correspondence between Sathasivam and Pittie regarding various birding matters. Includes pleasantries; sharing of and requests for information such as lists and bird records; confirmation of localities (Nelliampathy Hills); introduction of Sanjeeva Nayaka for Pittie's art show endeavour etc.

Pleasantries and recalling visit to India upon use of notebooks for illustrating raptors for Ripley’s Birds of India, including studies for the plates of the book.

Emails between Schoedel and Pittie regarding information for the sighting record of the Blossom-headed Parakeet Psittacula roseata in Nepal.

Correspondence between Sengupta and Pittie, succeeding correspondence between Futehally and Sengupta regarding references on insectivorous birds.

Email correspondence between Swamy and Pittie on birding projects and conferences. Topics include an informal association for birding projects and discussion of whether to include field work and the risks thereof (loss of bird nests for e.g.); Swamy's project on Heronries and request for theses on Spotbilled Pelican; DMAP software; and discussion of Pan Asian Conference venue changes. Attachments includes forwarded letter from Richard Grimmett and article by Swamy.

Email correspondence between Swamy and Pittie principally around Swamy's article on Heronries of Andhra Pradesh. Dicussion includes confirmation of existing and abandoned heronries; DMAP maps; and publication in Mayura; and general internet forums and servers for natural history. Includes attachments of maps of waterbodies / wetland localities in Andhra Pradesh and heronries, existing and lost. Mention of Dr Eric Lott and rediscovery of Blewitt's Owl.

Email correspondence between Swamy and Pittie including pleasantries and regarding various birding projects and articles. Topics include a proposed article on Col. Sparrow's egg collection; birding notes; requests for references; various technological tools; thoughts on pricing of Pittie's Bibliographic Index; and plumage variation of the Yellow-throated Bulbul (YTB)

Email correspondence between Swamy and Pittie on various birding projects. Topics include references for Swamy's Atlas records; back-up reference requests from Swamy and Pittie; and bird sighting details (at Coorg, Uma Maheswaram et al). Persons mentioned include Amitabh Poddar and Harkirat Sangha as a willing contributor for birding notes on Rajasthan and Punjab to Pitta.

Correspondence between Thomas and Pittie regarding sale of some old issues of the Newsletter for Birdwatchers' and nature books by Thomas. Includes a letter from Pittie to one Mr Amitabh Poddar (relation) for collection of books and two money orders for the same.

Emails between Tobias and Pittie regarding some unfound references from various birdwatching journals.

Regarding Questers’ Tours and Travels launching a tour in India, suggesting a person to assist in planning.

Letters from Pittie to Field Publicity Officer Uthaman requesting a paper and thanking him for receipt of the paper.

Correspondence between Pittie and Uttangi regarding cited papers and status of the journal Myforest sought for Pittie's bibliographic index.

Letter from Pittie to Verghese offering congratulations on Verghese's publication of Insect Environment and some comments. Postcard reply from Verghese with thanks.

Letter from Violani of the Universita Degli Studi di Pavia replying to Pittie’s request for information on Indian ornithology, enclosing various papers and lists of the Genoa museum ornithological collections in photocopy

Letter from Vyas with clarifications and errata in Vyas’ Supplementary note on the herpetofauna of Gir Forests in the Zoos’ Print Journal.

Request from Waheed for copies of checklist of birds of Andhra Pradesh for Conservator of Forestors, Mr. L.K.B. Rao

Letter from Wesley to Futehally, forwarded with aside by Futehally to Pittie, regarding difficulties of appropriate indexing for papers. With reference to his article on 'nest temperature regulation during incubation' published in the NLBW vol 34 no 3 and indexed by Pittie.

Correspondence between Wesley and Pittie on birding research. In the form of requesting papers and references for Pittie's Bibliographic Index to the Ornithology of the Indian Region; requests for books and information on training in bird ringing and journals such as Mayura, JBNHS, Pavo, Forktail and OBC's Bulletin; and various opinions on the nature of Newsletter for Birdwatchers.

Letter from Pittie to Whitehouse of the Foreign Bird Reports & Information Service Regarding sharing of foreign birder’s published matter from trips to India.

Email correspondence between Wilson and Pittie regarding advice on visit to see the Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican including birding sites (Nashik, Rollapadu) and contacts with birders who could assist.

Correspondence between Pittie and Wood of the RSPB regarding birding organisation matters and birding journal issues (JBNHS and Hornbill) sent by Pittie; as well as bird sightings and birdwatching plans. References made to a Network Group'; Asad Rahmani mentioned with regard to BNHS.