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The House Sparrow Is Disappearing from Many of Our Cities and Towns

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The House Sparrow Is Disappearing from Many of Our Cities and Towns AKHILESH KUMAR, AMITA KANAUJIA, SONIKA KUSHWAHA AND ADESH KUMAR TORY S OVER C The House sparrow is disappearing from many of our cities and towns. We can resurrect their numbers by simple steps like providing alternative nesting sites for these little chirping birds. among the fi rst animals to develop a close surveys conducted by ornithologists and association with humans. This led it to researchers suggest that the dramatic HE gentle chirruping of the small bird being given the name Passer domesticus. decline in population of the sparrow is an Tis slowly vanishing. As the House The House sparrow is also commonly unfortunate reality. sparrow loses its living space to other known as Gauriya. Scientists and researchers aggressive birds and also to humans, it is Unfortunately, the species has been suggest several causes responsible disappearing in large parts of the world. declining since the early 1980s in several for the diminishing population like In the last few years the bird has gone parts of the world. There has also been unavailability of nesting space, decrease completely missing from most urban noticeable decline in the number of in food availability, changes in human neighbourhoods. House sparrows in several parts of India lifestyle, pollution, electromagnetic As humans settled down to particularly across Bangalore, Mumbai, radiation from mobile phone towers agriculture and set up permanent Hyderabad, Punjab, Haryana, West (obsolete theory now) and diseases. settlements, the House sparrow was Bengal, Delhi and other cities. Several However, the foremost reason seems to House sparrow is a symbiotic bird species closely associated with humans SCIENCE REPORTER, JUNE 2015 14 COVER STORY HOUSE SPARROWS OF THE WORLD • Arabian Golden sparrow • Chestnut sparrow • Saxaul sparrow • House sparrow • Sind sparrow • Plain-backed sparrow Male House Sparrow Female House Sparrow • Dead Sea sparrow • Lago sparrow We must succeed in bringing back the House sparrows in our • Great sparrow lives, so that the future generation can also enjoy the pleasure • Kenya sparrow of watching these small and chirping little birds in their homes. • Shelley’s sparrow • Socotra sparrow be declining nesting sites in urban and The sparrow generally relies on • Cape sparrow suburban regions. animal food (insects), and plant foods • Northern Grey-headed sparrow Recently, however, there has been (seeds, grains, nuts and fruits). It is an elevated interest in avifauna and its primarily a seed-eater and sometimes • Swainson’s sparrow conservation. Therefore, strategies and supplements its diet with insects. In • Desert sparrow efforts for their conservation are being rural areas sparrows feed on the seeds of • Eurasian Tree sparrow implemented throughout the country. cultivated grain crops such as oats, wheat, • Sudan Golden sparrow Being a cavity bird, installation of nest barley, corn, and maize. • Southern Grey-headed sparrow boxes may be an effective attempt to But the House sparrow is also • Spanish sparrow increase the vanishing population of the helpful in eradicating harmful insects. It • Russet sparrow House sparrow. feeds its chicks on the larvae of the alfalfa • Somali sparrow weevil and cut-worms, both of which are • Parrot-billed sparrow House Sparrows destructive to alfalfa crops. They also prey on grasshoppers, mosquitoes and • Swahili sparrow The Gouraiya or the House sparrow is a larvae of several harmful insects. little, stocky song bird with thick bill, short populations in rural areas have declined leg, measuring about 14-16 cm, weight 26- Dust bathing is a very signifi cant by 47% since the mid 1970s, whereas 32 gram and having a wing span of 19-25 behavior of the House sparrow. It takes those in urban and suburban areas have cm. The sexes are dimorphic, that is, the dust baths even when water is available. declined by about 60%. High reduction males and females look different. House sparrows prefer very fi ne dust of sparrow population in London and will fl ap up a storm when they fi nd The male is warm brown above, with (60%), Glasgow (99%) and Hamburg a patch of it. By digging a hole with their a grey crown and nape. It has grey cheeks (77%) has led to its inclusion on the UK feet, they push their bellies into the dust. and grey under parts with black round Conservation Red List. The main reason for dust bathing may eyes. The female is somewhat featherless In Europe, trends since 1980 show be for making the skin smooth and to with a grey brown crown, a pale, buff that populations have undergone a remove feather parasites. The dust also supercilium, and an unmarked throat and moderate decline, based on provisional absorbs excess oil that is then removed as breast. Juveniles are similar to the adult data for 21 countries from the Pan- the dust is preened away. female. European Common Bird Monitoring House sparrows have a life span of 3 Scheme (Bird Life International, 2011). to 13 years. They prefer thatched houses, Global Decline In Germany, it is classifi ed as near bungalows and concrete structures to During recent decades, there has been threatened due to the large scale local build their nests. In suitable areas, they a marked global decline of the House declines. However, Bird Life International often form loose colonies, typically of 10- sparrow populations especially in the (2011) listed House sparrow as a Least 20 pairs. United Kingdom and in several western Concern species as it has an extremely European countries. In England, the large range and population size. House sparrows feeding on insects and House sparrows taking dust bath (left) and water bath (right) leftover household food 15 SCIENCE REPORTER, JUNE 2015 COVER STORY HOUSE SPARROWS OF INDIA Name Description Photo Distribution Abundance Code Passer hispaniolensis 16 cm, a chestnut and black Erratic winter visitor to plains of Uncommon (Spanish sparrow) sparrow with a stout bill. Sexes are Northwest India mainly east to dimorphic. Haryana and south to Rajasthan. Vagrant in Uttar Pradesh. Passer pyrrhonotus 12 cm, slim, brown and grey Uncommon (Sind sparrow) sparrow with neat, rectangular Local breeding resident. black bib. Sexes are dimorphic. Restricted to areas of Punjab and Haryana. Passer rutilans 15 cm, a bright chestnut sparrow Locally common breeding Fairly common (Russet sparrow) with usually yellowish-buff resident in northern mountains underparts. Sexes are dimorphic. from north Pakistan to east Myanmar. Passer montanus 14 cm, a brown and buff sparrow Fairly common Locally common breeding (Eurasian Tree sparrow) with a rounded, chest-nut crown. Sexes alike. resident in Uttaranchal. 15 cm, brown and grey sparrow Common breeding resident Passer domesticus Common with stout bill. Sexes are throughout plains and foothills. (House sparrow) dimorphic. Rare in parts of the Northwest and the Northeast. Scenario in India Mumbai, and Hyderabad. In parts of lifestyles of humans, unavailability of nesting sites, and threat from predators. According to an ornithological survey Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), for conducted by the Indian Council of instance, where volunteers had noticed The breeding season starts in March Agricultural Research (ICAR), the small fl ocks of six to eight sparrows till and runs through to August. In some sparrow population in Andhra Pradesh 1998, they had disappeared without a cases chicks have been reported in the alone has dropped by 80% and in other trace by 2003. In Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) month of September also. House sparrows states like Kerala, Gujarat and Rajasthan it recent surveys reveal the complete are generally regarded as monogamous has fallen by 20%, while the turn down in absence of House sparrows in several although extra pair paternity can vary coastal areas was as sharp as 70% to 80%. sites since 2013. from population to population. In recent years, ornithologists Natural nesting sites of House have observed sharp decline in House Threats to House Sparrows sparrows include spaces available within sparrow populations across India in Among the many threats counted as man-made buildings. They nest in any Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, reasons for global decline in House space be it a ceiling fan holder, tube-light Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Bangalore, sparrow populations are changing holders, crevices of houses, blocked/ unused pipe holes, thatches or electricity The bushy plants are always used for roosting by House meters. But House sparrows never use sparrow usually in large fl ocks shrubs or trees for nesting. Bushy plants are always used for roosting by House sparrow usually in large fl ocks. The nest is constructed by using different materials like straw, twigs, paper, leaves, grasses, fabric, etc., making an altogether untidy structure. It is lined with fi ne hair, wool and feathers. But SCIENCESSCISCCICIENEENCNNCCEER RREPORTER,EPOEEPPOPORRTERTTETERR,, JUNEJUJUNJUNUNE 20152012020 5 161 COVER STORY Nests in roof thatch The breeding season of House sparrows starts in March now there is competition for nesting sites among the doves, Rock chats, bulbuls and House sparrows. Their chicks are also attacked by predators such as crows, shikra, and black kites in cases where the nests are exposed. Some chicks even die after falling from the nests. Sparrow nests in thatch are often destroyed by cats. Nest in electricity meter Nest in street light With changing lifestyles the availability of nesting sites is reducing for these little chirping birds. Ventilators, which used to be there in all the houses about 12-15 years back, are going out of fashion. The increasing inclination towards comfort is leading to the use of ACs in almost every house, offi ce and even schools. When ACs are used the doors and windows are to be closed, thus Nest in fan holder Nest in tubelight holder forbidding the entry of House sparrows. Modern designs and house plans do not leave any crevices or space even outside the buildings that can be used for nesting by the sparrows.
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