Unlike Sálim Ali, his main contributions were less field-oriented and based more on bird collections, particularly those at the Bombay Natural History Society where he worked for most of his life.

His parents were Lulu and Najmuddin Faizalhussain Abdulali, a businessman who imported raw cotton and safety matches from India.

[2] In his unfinished autobiography (posthumously published in the book Humayan Abdulali - Naturalist Portrait and Tribute), he wrote that his interest in natural history may have been cultivated at an early age at the English Mission School in Kobe, while reading American stories on cowboys and the wild west.

He went on numerous excursions to observe fauna as well as for hunts, accompanied by his naturalist friends and his cousin Salim Ali.

These travels took him to Talegaon, Nashik, North Kanara, Travancore, Bharatpur, Assam (Manas and Kaziranga), Aurangabad, Western Ghats and the Kanheri Caves.

In his unfinished autobiography, he describes his adventures and exploits in and around Bombay - shooting ducks, partridges, and tigers, as well as spotting various birds, animals, reptiles, and amphibians.

During his tenure as the Honorary Secretary at BNHS (1949–62),[15] three important milestones were achieved: He was the editor of the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society from 1960 to 1962, along with Sálim Ali and H. Santapau.

[20] From 1963 to 1977, he made eight trips to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, accompanied by various people on different trips—colleagues from BNHS, researchers, assistants from the Zoological Survey of India, his son Akbar, etc.

[26] On the other hand, illegal killing and poaching of the animals protected by the Act continued to happen at the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago[27] and elsewhere in the country.

These include: Before India achieved independence in 1947, about 750 princely states in the country protected and preserved the local wildlife.

A Special Wildlife Protection Officer and several Honorary Game Wardens, equipped with police powers, were appointed under the new law to patrol forest areas.

[18] During his tenure as the Honorary Secretary of the BNHS, Humayun proposed that the forest areas located north of Aarey Milk Colony in Bombay up to the Vasai Creek be designated as a national park.

In 1975, the Government of Maharashtra started work on the construction of a highway that ran through the park, despite protests from environmental organisations and groups.

Along with a few other members of BNHS, Humayun filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition in the Bombay High Court for halting the construction of the highway.

[53] In the early 1960s, Humayun learnt about the commercial export of the legs of the bullfrog (Rana tigrina) from India to be used as a delicacy.

He was of the opinion that the frog, which ate insects and acted as a pest control, should not be eaten in the interest of preserving ecological balance and avoiding the use of chemical pesticides such as DDT.

In 1979, a Parliamentary Committee examined a report based on the study and asked Dr Sálim Ali, then a Member of the Rajya Sabha, if a ban on the export of frogs' legs was feasible.

[61][9] The scientific opinions of Sálim Ali and Humayun Abdulali would frequently differ and they would also often disagree with each other matters such as the style of functioning of the Society.

Sálim Ali, with the support of the Executive Committee, wanted the Reference Collection staff to work on the bird-ringing project.

They also disagreed on what groups they should focus on; Ali favoured ringing passerines while Abdulali suggested that he work on waders.