House Sprrow

Until about ten / twenty years back, the house sparrow was one of the commonest birds in Mysore and was one of the most numerous and regular visitors to our houses frequently.
When I was studying in primary School at Mysore in early 1980’s we use to see the Sparrows flying frequently. With their “cliv cliv” noise was a wake up call for all of us at home. First thing we use to do is to put some rice for them and then go to bath. In Agrahara Circle we use to see Sparrows in bunches and we use to play with them. But after 1990’s, where are these Sparrows gone? Nobody knows.
Here is much evidence that this once abundant bird has declined dramatically in recent years. It is now common knowledge that house sparrows have disappeared, or become far less common, in many places where they were formerly abundant. This applies both in the Mysore and many of the suburbs, as well as some of the surrounding towns and indeed a number of cities in other parts of the country. May be these are some of the factors which affected the Sparrow to run away from Mysore or from other places.

• Noise pollution
• Environment pollution
• Factors relating to food supply
• Reduction in insect food supply for the young
• A study has blamed a lack of aphids in early spring for a lack of breeding success in house sparrows’. A decline in the availability of invertebrates (such as aphids) for feeding young is also suggested as a major factor in house sparrow decline.
• Changes in agricultural practice
• Changes in agricultural practices, in particular the shift to monoculture crop plantings, have been suggested as the cause. That dose not means that we should advance to a new technology. But also we should take care of our Eco-System.
• Disease
• Declines on this scale have been attributed to disease.
• Changes relating to availability of nest sites
• Changes in roof design may be an issue in some areas of older housing undergoing renovation, as modern roof repairs may prevent access to the roof space for birds. However, a decline has also been noted in areas where roof replacement is less widespread.
  

Here it is relevant to mention what Mr. Tony Blair; Prime Minister, UK mentioned “The house sparrow, once more cockney than the cockneys, is now a rarity in London”. Because of this the UK government proposed a plan called “House Sparrow Action Plan”
Raise awareness of the need for biodiversity conservation by focusing attention on the decline in the house sparrow and its importance as a cultural emblem.
Establish the cause(s) of decline in the population of house sparrows and, if possible, undertake measures to reverse the decline.
These are some of the actions taken by the UK Government. Same way, we Mysoreian let us join together and protect our House Sparrow and protect our nature.