Sparrows fly out, number falls by 50%

MUMBAI: Earlier spotted abundantly on trees and window sills, house sparrows are getting rarer in the urban landscape. A recent survey shows that the sparrow population has shrunk to almost half in the last decade. Since 2005, there has been an almost 60% decline in the big sparrow clusters. Areas with no sparrows have also gone up by 50%. The survey compared sparrow spotting by people before and after 2005. Mumbai, surprisingly, fared the best among other metros when it came to sparrow population, stated the survey.

The survey conducted by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) over the last one year, collated data on sparrows before and after 2005. BNHS had roped in people from across the country to report the spotting of sparrows. Sparrows were reported absent from about 50% areas during 2005-2012, compared to pre-2005. While 1-30 sparrows were spotted frequently, bigger clusters of 30-plus sparrows saw a 60% decline. While sparrow nests were spotted frequently before 2005, they dwindled by 65% during the last decade.

“The most obvious reason is destruction of sparrow habitat. Their nesting places have disappeared with rampant urbanization,” said a conservationist. The survey states that small towns fare better than cities when it comes to sparrow clusters. “There are nearly twice as many reports of large flocks of sparrows from rural areas as from cities. Sparrows are also more likely to be absent in cities than in towns and villages,” the report states.

The report also looked at how sparrows fared in the metros and Mumbai came up as a haven for the birds compared to Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai. Not only were the “no-sparrow” areas least in Mumbai, but most number of sparrows was reported from the city compared to others. “It needs another research to know why Mumbai has more sparrows compared to others,” said Karthik K, a research fellow at BNHS. Most concurred that sparrow population in the country needs to be mapped on a long-term basis.