WHERE HAVE THE SPARROWS GONE?

The balance between flora and fauna is an essential element of the ecosystem. Any imbalance to this, often caused by humans, leads to undesirable and catastrophic results. One such imbalance can be seen in our immediate surroundings. Take the house sparrow, a bird commonly seen throughout India. We no longer see them frequently. Though pigeons feed on a similar diet, human intervention in feeding pigeons at the cost of sparrows has caused an imbalance.

Sparrows need thick bushes or mud walls to build nests, pigeons build it in the open. Trees and bushes are cut and replaced with decorative plants and mud houses are replaced with concrete jungle. A lack of vegetation means there are fewer worms for the sparrows to eat. More vehicles on the road using unleaded petrol, electromagnetic radiation from mobile towers are other contributors to the decline of sparrows. The least we can do is provide these little birds with food and shelter, by installing a nest box and bird feeder. So now, only a collective effort can save the sparrow.