World Sparrow Day: Where have the birds gone?

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Where have the sparrows gone?

When was the last time you saw a sparrow chirping near your window?
The house sparrow has been one of the oldest companions of humans. Poets of all languages have praised of their trust and love for each other. Sparrows have been associated by the ancient Greeks with Aphrodite- the goddess of love, due to their perceived lustfulness. The association was inscribed by writers such as Shakespeare and Chaucer.

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The familiar bird prefers to live around agricultural areas, and for several, human settlements are a primary habitat. House sparrows for a long period of time have been known to reside around buildings.

However, over the last 5 decades, sparrows have deserted human company in urban areas, preferring the countryside to make short visits to close by human habitats.

World Sparrow Day
The sudden and puzzling alienation led to the species being included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in UK.
World Sparrow Day is observed on March 20 across the world as an international initiative taken in 2010 by Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world. It aims to provide a platform for advocacy and spreading awareness on the need to conserve biodiversity of lower conservation status. Delhi adopted House sparrow as the state bird.

Reasons for decline
Contrary to their small size, sparrows are strongly immune birds. Their abrupt disappearance must be seen as an ecological indication or warning to humans about forthcoming environmental menace. Several environmentalistshave put theories on the table to account for sparrows to abandon human habitat and they all conclude to the fact that the changes in the human lifestyle and mindless urbanisation is increasingly incompatible with the conservative lifestyles of sparrows and is depriving the species of their natural habitat.

These changes include the unavailability of food in form of tiny insects due to thereduction of vegetation in modern adaptations, overuse of insecticides outdoors and insect repellents indoors and concrete buildings with no nesting spaces.

Further, noise and air pollution from vehicles in urban settlement could be deterrents. Moreover, the rise in electromagnetic radiations from mobile phone towers and the excessive use of wireless devices in houses have caused the birds to move away. It could be the combined effect of these environmental pollutants that has forced sparrows to go away from their long-trusted companions.

Things you did not know about the little bird

• The population of the bird has fallen by 99% in some areas
• When their population was abundant about century ago, there were clubs whose members competed to kill the most birds
• Though a commonly observed resident of Britain and India, it’s thought to be a native north from North Africa.
• They are often seen as social birds, nesting together in colonies.
• They are non-migratory, but urban flocks traditionally moved to the countryside in the late summer to feed on the ripening grain fields.
• Most pairs raise two to three broods in a year.
• Incubation period is of about 11 days, and within two weeks, the young ones leave the nest.
• Cats are major predators of the species. They target the inexperienced infants when mothers leave the nest
• Sparrows fly at 24 miles/hour. When in danger, they can go up to 31 miles/hour.
• Sparrows can survive for 4-5 years in the wild

What can we do for them?

Placing feeders and bird houses outside the house or in the courtyard/balcony
Placing water bowls during summer months to keep birds hydrated
Create a welcoming environment for birds by growing plants and hedges around the house