Sparrows die of poisoning

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Nov 15: The chirping sounds of domestic sparrows and quaint scenes of a mother feeding her children by showing them these birds will soon vanish from the state, with these common birds fast disappearing, 75 per cent of them already gone in urban areas. A recent study conducted by city-based zoologists of Andhra University revealed that the depletion of sparrows is 75 percent in urban areas and 40 percent in rural areas in the past 15 years. These birds, which were seen in flocks earlier, are rarely seen nowadays. The prime reason for the disappearance of sparrows is shocking. According to Prof B Bharatha lakshmi of Zoology department in AU, the killer is not a vague concept like pollution and lack of trees, but cockroaches.
"Over-usage of powerful pesticides, insecticides and herbicides is causing the depletion in sparrow numbers," Lakshmi told this correspondent. According to her, these birds generally feed on small insects like dragon flies found in small grass patches and gardens and grains but these days due to lack of enough food sparrows started eating dead cockroaches that are thrown out by public in large numbers after killing them by powerful insecticides in the households. "Its an unusual phenomenon where sparrows started eating dead cockroaches. After eating these cockroaches that were killed by using powerful insecticides available in the market sparrows also started dieing," she said. These birds are also facing nesting problems due to the cities changing into concrete jungles. And in rural areas usage of modern technology of harvesting these birds are finding it difficult to get food.
The researcher also said that though there will not be any immediate affect due to the disappearance of these, the impact would hit the future, as each bird has its role in the eco system. "We can not just rule out the importance of these small birds. Importance of vultures was realized only after their number started declining and now government is taking measures to safeguard the existing vulture population. Our future generations will not be able to see sparrows which are very close to humans if something is not done to reverse the situation" she said. To halt the present situation greenery has to be encouraged and pesticides, insecticides and herbicides usage should be reduced. Bharatha Lakshmi with a group of students were studying the sparrows trend since 15 years. The research was conducted in various urban and rural places in Andhra Pradesh. She lamented that nothing has been taken up by the government even after the glaring decline of these sparrows issue was brought up in many national and international meets.