Sparrow Conservation Day: There are many types of animals and birds found in our environment, which contribute a lot not only to our lives but also to the balance of our environment and ecology, one of these birds is the sparrow. All the 90s kids do you remember the childhoods when we found sparrows every day in the evening times flying back to their nests? In earlier times, you might have seen a sparrow near your house. It is a small light brown coloured bird whose size is about 14 to 15 cm in length, in which male and female birds are found separately. The male sparrow birds are slightly darker and bigger than the female sparrow bird.
Commonly, the sparrow bird likes to eat grains along with the food that usually people scatter on the top of the roof or in the courtyard of their homes. However, in winter, when there is a shortage of food, Sparrows can sometimes be seen eating insects in order to keep themselves healthy. The breeding season of the sparrow bird occurs in the months of March and August and it lays about 3 to 4 eggs in its nest which hatch into chicks after about 10 to 15 days.
Sparrow Conservation Day: Habitat of a Sparrow
As far as the habitat of a sparrow is concerned, this small bird lives with us in a small space in our homes. For some time now, or rather, in the last decades, developed countries have seen a decline in the number of this bird. Due to the continuous decrease in their number, countries like England and the Netherlands have kept them in the main protected bird category of their country.
Sparrow Conservation Day: Sparrow Presence in India
As far as it is about the presence of this bird in India, researchers and scientists worked on the number of sparrows in the southern part of India and found that due to some man-made habits, the number of sparrows is decreasing. A decrease in its number has also been observed in Delhi, the capital of India, and for its conservation, the Sparrow bird has been declared the state bird in the Union Territory of Delhi. In order to keep people aware of the decline of the sparrow birds, the news is regularly published. The reasons for the decline in its number have been attributed to the radiation emanating from the mobile tower along with the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in farming and the reduction in its habitat has led to the ultimate reduction in the food of the sparrow bird.
In the northern part of India, efforts are being made in order to find out the reasons leading to the decrease in the number of sparrows in the Doon Valley, located in the Shivalik ranges of the Himalayas. For this, the figures of their numbers are collected are studied along with the behaviour of the sparrows along with the number of the sparrows in the urban and rural areas of the Doon Valley.
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Sparrow Conservation Day: The Study of Sparrow Bird
These facts found on mathematical analysis of these figures show that the number of sparrows in the plains of the Doon Valley has been less as compared to the mountainous areas. If we talk about Dehradun city, the city was divided into three parts for the study, which the first part were a market area, railway station, bus station and clock tower area of Dehradun. In the second part, Sparrow bird enumeration was done in some residential areas established in the Dehradun area. In the third part, the study counted the birds in those places where construction work is going on or those areas which come under rural areas.
After studying the data obtained in all three areas, it was found that the maximum decline in the number of sparrows is in the first place i.e. the area where the railway station, bus stand and crowded market area, whereas in the rural area, their number was found to be very good. Also, their nests were also seen.
Results Of Sparrow Conservation Day Study
In the study, it was found that the reason for the decrease in the number of sparrows in urban areas is the modern infrastructure which has destroyed the nesting place for the sparrows whereas due to the adoption of this modern infrastructure, there has been an increase in the number of pigeons in the urban areas of Dehradun for some time now. At the same time, by adopting the concept of modern urbanization, the green regions have been reduced due to which the sparrow bird has almost migrated from the urban areas.
On the contrary, if we look at the rural areas of Dehradun, the infrastructure adopted by the people has not yet become sophisticated. Along with this, it was also found that some of the people in the rural areas are still using their traditional cultural knowledge in which, it was found that people keep grains of all types and water facilities for the sparrow birds. Additionally, sometimes the leftover food after eating is also kept for the birds. The study also noticed that some conscious people, especially school-going boys and girls, have kept nests made by themselves in their homes.
In the findings of the study, it was found that there has not been any decline in the number of sparrow birds, however, they have migrated from urban areas to rural areas. In this way, we found that modern science and our traditional cultural knowledge have been successful in preserving our animals and birds. Along with this, creating awareness about the conservation of trees, plants, animals and birds has proved helpful in school education.
In a research paper published by Professor Kamalkant Joshi, Graphic Era University, it has been told that the main reason for the decline in the number of sparrows is our modern infrastructure and the ignorance of people towards birds.
If we live by using our traditional knowledge in modern life and plant trees and plants around us, which will not only keep our health good but will also provide a place for birds like Goria to live and thus their number will also be controlled.