World Sparrow Day 2023: Our little brown-grey birdie needs help!

Visiting my grandparents’ village in the backwaters of the Godavari river as children, we used to see congregations of house sparrows. Everywhere. In the backyard, in the neighbours’ homes, where we went to visit, in and around the paddy fields and on trees lining the small lanes and bylanes that crisscrossed our ancestral village. My grandmother would feed them, as she would the countless other little birds that flitted around inside and outside the home and even made nests in crevices and niches in the roofs. Today, forget congregations, even a lone sparrow or two would be difficult to come by in the crowded urban-housing clusters where most of us live today. They can be found only in the gardens and backyards of homes which have these large, green spaces and these are anyway a small part of the urban-housing scene. The explosion in the population which has led to hundreds of tall apartment blocks and office buildings dotting the urban skyline, increased use of pesticides in fields, lack of homes with gardens, tall cellphone towers, the larger pigeons which scare off the smaller sparrows, and the release of radiation from the mobile and TV towers as well as emission of carbon-dioxide from automobiles have been causes of decline and slow disappearance of sparrows from urban areas. The gentle sparrow is also easily scared off by big noises which occur more in crowded, urban areas. This is why they are disappearing from cities and towns which need them—because their habitats are disappearing and their food is disappearing. Long ago, even in cities and towns, old houses had niches within the interiors where they nested and crevices in their roofs too. And when sparrows used to flit around, they were not considered intrusive by most people and were almost treated like family members. Even if they dropped nesting material, it was quietly cleaned up by the residents. However, such niches or cavities do not exist in the new pattern of architecture and modern buildings. This is a great pity considering the many benefits that this small bird offers. According to ornithologists and birdwatchers, India has about 1,200 to 1,300 varieties of birds and a substantial percent of the world bird population. These are rough but reasonable estimates because as experts point out, one cannot have precise figures for bird species and populations. As Mohali-based Professor (Dr) Gurpartap Singh, an author, bird-watcher and photographer, and Executive Member of Nature Conservation Society (Punjab), explains: “From the 11,000 bird species described so far in the world, around 1,330 have been recorded from India. That gives us a percentage of just over 12 percent. It is tricky to have bird-population estimates. There is no reliable figure for the total bird population in India as we have some resident birds and also winter, summer and passage migrants. Because birds are small and they fly, it’s impossible to count each bird one by one. Moreover, many areas are poorly charted in terms of bird diversity, leaving even more room for doubt. As per the most recent estimates, there are at least 50 billion birds in the world. How many more could be there…nobody knows. Out of this, the number of house sparrows is about 1.6.billion.” All these birds are a vital part of the ecosystem and do their bit for maintaining the ecological balance. As regards the humble sparrow it contributes much to the environment. According to Mohammed Dilawar, President, Nature Forever Society (NFS), a conservation organisation based in Nashik, there are four types of sparrows found in India. These include: (1) The House Sparrows - seen in rural and urban locations across the country. (2) Russet Sparrows - found in the Himalayan Range. (3) Eurasian Tree Sparrows. (4) Sind Sparrows - These are migratory birds. (5) Spanish Sparrows. Of these, the house sparrow (Passer Domesticus) also referred to simply as the sparrow is the most common and widely found. Little bird, big benefits–that is how you could sum up the sparrow’s contribution. They are vital for maintaining the ecological balance and the continuity of the food chain. The brown-grey bird is tiny in size and weight, the average bird barely weighs 30 to 40 gm. Sparrows are seed-eaters, and contribute to the health of fields around human habitation, gardens, and other green spaces by preventing weeds from taking over. These birds ingest big quantities of weed seeds, thus helping control unwanted plants. The grains they eat and scatter as they fly around help in maintaining nature’s biodiversity. Sparrows act as insect controllers as they feed on large numbers of insects as well as tiny creatures (caterpillars, beetles and others) and feed their young on an insect or worm diet. Many of these insects and tiny creatures are those which destroy crops and hence sparrows act as a protective force. Pollination, a necessary process for plant reproduction, is also performed by sparrows when they visit flowers and transfer pollen. They are themselves food for predatory birds and hence their absence could negatively impact the population of birds of prey. Finally, it is their delightful chirping as well as that of other birds that signals daybreak. Yet, as most bird-lovers and ornithologists have pointed out, little is being done by the authorities across India for the conservation of Sparrows. For years now, all the media and conservation attention has been focused on what are called the more ‘glamorous’ causes like the tiger, leopard or red panda. Of course, these species richly deserve to be preserved and promoted but what about the common sparrow too? This brown-grey bird also does not have the brilliant plumage that many of its feathered counterparts like peacocks do and hence gets less attention, even from photographers. So, the burden is on the average citizen. Fortunately, there are persons who have been doing their bit and many urbanites are slowly waking up to this responsibility and contributing in ways they can. Yes, everyone of us can make a difference. Even in apartments and crowded urban clusters, many residents can and do leave a bowl of water and some grains (of any type) either scattered on the floor or in bird-feeders in a corner of the balcony to help these birds quench their thirst and feed themselves. However, one has to place this in an area which the cat does not visit. You can buy a well-designed bird-feeder or make one with an earthen pot or shallow plate. “In new buildings, small earthen pots can be suitably affixed at a few places on the outside walls. Use of pesticides in agriculture, home gardens and while storing grain, ultimately finds way to the system of sparrows, causing them to die. By doing away with use of pesticides or using herbal alternatives, people can help sparrows to survive. Kitchen waste could be transferred to special pits where the decomposition would help in the growth of worms that the sparrows need to feed their young. Growing native plants and hedges can also be helpful to sustain the sparrows,” says Professor Gurpartap Singh Then, there are concepts of Sparrow Moms and Bird Adopters where persons undertake to protect and feed birds and promote their breeding. Even without knowing of concepts like Sparrow Mom, or lists of sparrow benefits, for many families in India, from generations, the feeding of birds including sparrows is a way of life, a daily activity. Take Hyderabad-based artist Sita Sastry Viswanadham who has been feeding birds in the early morning and again before her lunch every day for the past five or six decades. Today, her backyard, dotted with trees and flowering bushes and plants is filled with birdsong through the daytime. “I give them bread crumbs, grains, rice, etc. It is not only sparrows but a variety of birds that come to feed. Some of them even feed on the fish that they take away from our fish tanks.” Many ordinary citizens told us that they have imbibed the culture of bird-feeding, especially of sparrows, from their elders like parents and grandparents and brought it to their inlaws’ home/own homes as grown-ups. They narrate how, today, the next generation including their children, nephews and nieces have begun to follow their example. Some adults said that they have become environmentally-conscious later in life thanks to their education and the exposure to degradation and regeneration/conservation stories. These people revealed that they buy birdfeed along with their monthly provisions and scatter it daily in different spaces in their balconies or small garden/backyards and also on terraces and place water too for sparrows and other common birds too. Then there are organisations that are doing good work. World Sparrow Day is an international initiative by NFS and France’s Eco-Sys Action Foundation and other national and international organisations. The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010. It not only focuses on the house sparrow but also other species of sparrows found across the world and raises awareness about the need to conserve them and the how of doing that.

Today is #WorldSparrowDay. Whose songs are fading day by day.

But here is a unique thing to share today. Only plaque in world dedicated to #sparrow is in Ahmedabad. Dedicated to a sparrow that died in March of 1974 in police firing. People are beautiful !! pic.twitter.com/7Bk5gNNkQX

— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) March 20, 2023

Dilawar’s NFS works for sparrows and common birds and makes and retails bird-conservation products including thoughtfully designed nest-boxes and feeders for sparrows as safe spaces for their eating and breeding. As Dilawar often says: “For me saving sparrows is not a project, it’s a lifetime mission.” It all began when he was a child. “I grew up with sparrows and other birds around me in my ancestral home and was always in love with animals and nature. My grandmother used to switch off fans even in summer so that female sparrows were not hurt while feeding their chicks. In those days sparrows used to make nests in people’s homes. Moreover, opposite to our home on the Nashik Municipal Clock tower there used to be hundreds of vultures. Both these birds fascinated me and I grew up observing them. So when vultures declined from being the most common raptors to being critically endangered it came as a shock to me. At the same time I heard reports of the decline of the house sparrow. Then, I made a promise to myself: what had happened to the vultures I will never let happen to the sparrows.” NFS also instituted the first Sparrow Awards in 2011 and from this year, the name has been changed to WIPRO-NFS Citizens Conservation Awards. Delhi has adopted the sparrow as a state bird from the year 2012. Moreover, this state has set up the first ‘Sparrow Village’ in Garhi Mandu City Forest which is an example to be emulated. Professor Singh gives details of this village: “Insect houses have been constructed here for sparrows so that they do not find it difficult to find food for their young. Nesting holes have been built here as well, due to the scarcity of nesting holes elsewhere in the city. Native berries, grass, and shrubs have also been planted. Along with this, feeder boxes, artificial nests, and earthen pots have been placed at different points.” He also suggests that the government should provide financial aid to the municipal authorities around the country to establish suitable habitats for sparrows and release sparrows at selected places from where they have completely disappeared. The efforts need to be sustained and multiplied. As one can see, whether it is initiatives on a large scale like the special sparrow village or just putting out water and food for the birds, there is much that can be done for the gentle sparrow. The writer is a Journalist, Photographer, Translator and author of  Forgotten Composers. Views are personal. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.