Save the Sparrows

Save the Sparrows ‘Like we have driven cattle out of the city, We have also driven the birds away’ About sparrows…. You will find sparrows like Indian House Sparrow or Indian Sparrow in the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. They belong to the sparrow family Passeridae and their scientific name is Passer domesticus. The Latin word Passeridae and English word sparrow is the term used for small active birds and the Latin word domesticus means "belonging to the house". They are common birds found in most parts of the world like in most of Europe and Asia and the Mediterranean region. There are 5 Species found in India these are House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Sind Sparrow, Russet Sparrow and Eurasian Sparrow. Humans and sparrows……. The House Sparrows are believed to have been closely associated with humans around 10,000 years ago. The House Sparrow is considered to be beneficial to humans especially by eating insect pests. It has even been mentioned in our mythologies and folklores, along with the common crow, eagles, vultures and other birds, which used to build their nest close to human dwellings. In South India it was considered a good omen if the house sparrow built a nest inside their houses. House sparrows are also represented in Egyptian art. Are you interested in bird watching? Tell us one of interesting observation while watching birds like sparrows, common crow etc. _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Sad but true: Sparrows were once a very common bird all over…now they are on the verge of extinction… Causes for their extinction …… Decline in the population of sparrows is a global phenomenon and it’s clearly visible in many countries around the world. In most of them, the House Sparrow was not protected by laws. Causes for the decrease are: • Deliberate attempts to control House Sparrows include the trapping, poisoning, or shooting of adults; the destruction of their nests and eggs, blocking nest holes and scaring off sparrows with noise, glue, or porcupine wire etc • Predation and electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone and phone towers. • Loss of nesting sites and natural habitat in urban areas • Lack of breeding spaces due to urbanization • An insufficient supply of insect food for nestling sparrows due to fewer insects because of the heavy use of pesticides for the crops and garden pesticides killing garden insects which are vital food for new born chicks. • Use of toxic compounds like methyl nitrite and unleaded petrol in cities and parking areas. • High automobile pollution with a lot of lead being released into the atmosphere affects the thin shelled eggs of sparrows • Higher noise pollution might cause disturbance to them. • Unfriendly architecture in urban areas Write a poem on sparrows. Colour the sparrow and give this bird a nickname. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of the character played by famous Hollywood actor Johnny Depp in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean is ____________________________ What are we doing to save sparrows from extinction? Now we have many conservation organizations, research centers, NGOs etc coming forward to revive the dying hope of conserving sparrows. Unfortunately, in India, we don't have any historical statistical data because no one ever cared to count House Sparrows. Special efforts: • Conservation organizations encouraging the use of special nest boxes for sparrows. • World Sparrow Day has been celebrated on 20 March across the world since 2010 to raise awareness of threats to the House Sparrow. Various events are planned which are attended by conservation activists, conservation biologists, political leaders, activists and law-makers and think seriously on the findings of scientists and conservation biologists. • Various conservation groups are studying the causes of their death. For instance: mobile phone towers, erected without norms or strict regulations are a threat to sparrows as per the recent study by a conservation group in Kerala, South India. • Various environmental groups like Nature Forever Society of Mumbai, Kerala Environmental Researchers Association (KERA), WWF etc, NGO’s like Kalpavriksh, Burhani Foundation India, Bombay Natural History Society, TERI etc are creating awareness about extinction of sparrows and ways to prevent it. • Enforcement of strict rules and regulation on erection of mobile phone towers according to a study mobile tower were found to emit electro magnetic waves of a very low frequency of 900 or 1,800 MHz which is enough to harm the thin skull of chicks and their egg shells. • Awareness among farmers to reduce pesticide use and avoid mono- cropping (single crop) The central theme for the introductory year of World House Sparrow Day is “Help House Sparrows,” and it highlighted the reasons for the decline of the birds due to the lack of nesting sites, food, effects of pesticides, microwave pollution and how we can help them in fighting against these problems. What can we do? • Protect insect habitats on farms and planting native plants • Keep a bowl of water and insect food in your balcony • Adopt nest boxes and feed the birds • Restore gardens and green spaces in the urban spaces • Change modern architecture to provide nesting cavities • Read articles about sparrows in the newspapers and magazines and watch programmes on birds in TV Channels like Discovery, Animal Planet etc • Write articles for newspaper and magazines • Start bird watching and observe birds • Join NGOs and environmental groups as interns, volunteers and employees. Draw a postcard with a caption on Saving the Sparrow. Content credits- en.wikipedia.org, sites.google.com, www.indiabroadband.net, www.deccanherald.com .

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