In 2012, Amar Chitra Katha, the popular comic book, published a series on the Bird Man of India, Salim Ali. It highlights the alarming decline in the number of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in the country. While this garnered public attention to the declining numbers of sparrows, the trend has continued, unabated.
A study published in 2010 documented the drastic disappearance in the sparrow population of India. In Andhra Pradesh, there was a drop of 80 per cent. States such as Kerala, Gujarat, and Rajasthan reported a 20 per cent drop in their numbers. In coastal areas, the dip was as drastic as 70-80 per cent; in some parts of Thiruvananthapuram, bird watchers documented the complete disappearance of flocks of six to eight sparrows by 2003.
In the National Capital Territory of Delhi, high-density urban areas have lesser numbers of sparrows than agricultural belts. However, common bird species like Rock Pigeon, House Crow and Common Myna) abound in these areas. Research shows that Rock pigeons dominate Delhi. The House Crow is aggressive in marking its territory and feeds on the kitchen waste in large groups. Such species – and the increasing competition for food that they bring – have adversely affected the survival of house sparrows.
By 2015, things got worse. A study, published in the ‘Asia Pacific Journal of Research,’ reported that the sparrow population had continued to decline. Changes in agricultural patterns, with greater use of pesticides, had resulted in the decline of insect food for the young chicks; poison residues, found in food grains, could also have also harmed the sparrows.
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