City anchor: A little ray of hope: City reports most sparrow sightings

Researchers who conducted the survey admit that in India,good studies have not been done on the sparrow’s declining numbers. According to the report,the birds were spotted a lot more in rural areas as opposed to urban areas. “This is down to reduced grain spillage and improved storage facilities in rural areas. The use of pesticides and herbicides also has a role to play in the sparrow’s decline,” said Karthik K,a research fellow at BNHS.

He said that Mumbai has come out on top due to the number of sightings in the city. “These are preliminary figures. We received some 1,800-1,900 reports from 820 participants in Mumbai. Most of those who participated are common people. Around 40 participants were wildlife professionals,” he said.

In urban areas,the survival of sparrows is affected by use of pesticides and herbicides in gardens,campuses and parks,Salmonellosis and an increase in air pollution. “Lack of nesting space due to modern architecture can be related to land-use change from agriculture to multi-storeyed buildings. The reduction in the number of open vegetable markets also results in lack of food,” Karthik said.

However,he singled out the use of pesticide which drives away insects,the main prey of sparrows. “House sparrows,house sparrow nestlings/chicks need protein,which means they need a lot of insects. Hence use of pesticides invariably affects house sparrow population,” he said.