Chirp of sparrows still resounds in Chennai neighbourhood

According to bird watchers, house sparrows once were an integral part of the ecology of any neighbourhood in Chennai but over the years, the number of such small birds have been on the decline in the city. 

KVRK Thirunaranan, founder, The Nature Trust, Chennai said, “Going by the current scenario, all the birds are under threat due to increasing urbanisation and rising population. Further, climate and human threats are also contributing factors in reducing the number of birds. However, we cannot come to a conclusion about sparrows being extinct.” The recent study conducted by the trust showed that New and Old Washermenpet, Perambur, Korukkupet and RK Nagar had sparrows in good numbers and they had documented around 200 house sparrows in these areas in north Chennai, which had more number of thatched and tile houses and traditional shops.

Lifestyle change and construction of new concrete houses in many parts of the city led to displacement of sparrows, he said. Asked about the ecological balance due to dip in the number of birds, Thirunaranan said, “all the species irrespective of being big and small, will create ecological impact, if numbers are on the decline.” 

Similarly, G Vijayakumar, secretary of the Madras Naturalists’ Society (MNS) said, “even the MNS has observed that many residents in the city feed sparrows and are continuously creating awareness to protect the small birds.” 

However, sparrows are still widely seen in the hill stations across the state. Vijay Krishnaraj, a wildlife activist and former secretary, Nilgiris Wildlife Association, said “hilly areas witness healthy sparrow population. There are two factors for survival of sparrows and they are that there should be proper places for nesting and food availability.” The members from the association also provide artificial nesting boxes and bamboo to the school students in Nilgiris district and other areas, he added.