Today is World Sparrow Day. House sparrows interestingly live in urban or rural areas as they are strongly associated with human habitations.
The Sparrow is a human habitat companion. Wherever there are settlements this small chirping bird thrives. It represents the organic eco-health of a habitat.
Common House Sparrow is declining all over the world for no concrete reason. The house sparrows are indicators of the environmental health and if they are dying then it means that all is not well.
According to an ornithological survey conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the sparrow population in Andhra Pradesh alone has dropped by 80% and in other states like Kerala, Gujarat and Rajasthan it has fallen by 20%, while the turn down in coastal areas was as sharp as 70% to 80%.
Several reasons are found that led the decline of the sparrows. They have lost nesting opportunities in urban areas. They have competition of food that causes their decline. Several sparrows everyday become the pray of hawks and owl hunts. Besides, greater volume of traffic leads to the disturbance and pollution from exhaust fumes results death of sparrows.
To raise awareness about it the whole world celebrates World Sparrow Day on 20th March. The theme of the World Sparrow Day is “Love Sparrows.”