Changing lifestyles have robbed sparrows of their nesting grounds

Vinod Chandrashekhar Dixit

(dixitpatrakar@yahoo.in)

Spotting a sparrow in the cities these days have become very difficult. 20th March was celebrated as World Sparrow Day to emphasize the need to protect these little birds, as well as their habitats. A sparrow is to the city what a tiger is to the forest. Sparrow populations in many countries around the world are declining. The shocking and the inconvenienced truth is that the population of the sparrow is declining at the fastest pace. Sparrow is a very important member of various urban and natural food chains and food webs. Sparrows are the sweetest birds that live around us and as a child, every one of us should have enjoyed their sightings all around us. The house sparrow is one of the best friends of humans. The association between humans and the house sparrow dates back to several centuries and no other bird has been associated with humans daily like the house sparrow. Sparrow, by far, is the most familiar bird in the world. It has shared 10,000 years of relationship with mankind. Sparrows are amongst the bird species that we have been seeing since childhood. But, recent surveys have shown that their numbers are declining.

Changing lifestyles have robbed sparrows of their nesting grounds. The fast-paced lifestyles of urban and semi-urban areas have also been reflected in people's attitudes towards birds and biodiversity. Sparrows are resilient, they migrate to safer zones, feeding at public granaries, market places, ports and rail stations, nest at nearby sites and adapt to stabilize their population, but gradually, all such places are becoming unsuitable for the sparrows. Its slow but noticeable disappearance has been labelled as one of the biggest mysteries of recent times.

Future generations might get to see them only in pictures. House Sparrow was quite popular and common among the past and present generations who got to see them all around their house and fields. Listing the number of reasons for the decline in the population, survival of any species was ultimately linked to factors such as food, nesting and breeding opportunities and escaping from the predators. Lack of these led to a decline in the Sparrow population. The increasing number of cell phone towers in urban ambience and the radiation from these towers are also leading to a high mortality rate of sparrows.

In the modern era, the widespread loss of habitat and excessive insecticide usage has taken away their mode of subsistence. The decline of sparrows includes a shortage of nesting sites, food, effects of pesticides and microwave pollution caused by mobile towers. These sparrows being one of the bio-indicators is a grim reminder of the polluted environment in which not only the house sparrows but also the other common birds get depleted. We have to remember that this little magical bird that is gradually disappearing from our skies and neighbourhoods needs immediate help to survive.

Sparrow huts became a common add-on at handicraft exhibitions for environment-friendly people. By bringing it back, we are safeguarding our children's future for a green and healthy environment. It is time we took fruitful efforts to conserve the tiny social, human-associated bird. It is our responsibility to save this small, lovable, beautiful and harmless bird for the environment and ourselves.