India, Feb. 21 -- When wildlife conservationist Vivek Menon took his copy of The Book of Indian Birds to its author, Salim Ali, for an autograph, Ali was thrilled to see how worn out it was. "He said 'I'm so glad someone is using my book'," Menon recalls.

That 1941 book, with its famously detailed hand-painted illustrations by Carl D'Silva, was one of the first field guides on India, by an Indian.

Such books, as the name suggests, are meant to be taken into the field: into a forest, national park, safari, lakeside, garden, local park or even just one's balcony.

Their mission is to help researchers, naturalists and nature-lovers identify a creature they have seen, without having to capture or kill it (as was historically done).

Field g...