Chimani, Chiraiya, Chittu Kuruvi — whatever name you grew up calling the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), chances are, it has been ages since you heard it. The declining population of the once commonly seen, heard, and loved bird has led concerned Mumbaikars to devise inventive methods to bring the bird back to the city. Environmentalists Dr V Shubhalaxmi and Manish Verma share their tips.
Play your part
>> Feeder: Take a plastic bottle and cut a small hole on the side. Fill the bottle with jowar, bajra, wheat, or peanuts. Sparrows do not feed on whole seeds or grains like pigeons. Ensure you break the grains. Attach a hook to the bottom of the bottle and hang it in your balcony or garden.
>> Dust bath: Sparrows like to immerse themselves in fine soil and shake it off to clean their bodies of parasites and other organisms. A bowl of dry and fine soil makes the ideal dust bath.
>> Water bowls: Leave a shallow plate or bowl of water outside. The tiny birds will drink, and might even step in for a quick bath.
>> Green island: Omnivorous in nature, sparrows love plants that attract insects like caterpillars. Plant Tulsi, lemongrass, marigold, or periwinkle in your home garden. Housing societies can plant hedges of bougainvillea on their fence walls.
Why did the sparrows leave?
>> Skyscrapers and redeveloped buildings lack crevices, short hedges, and shaded corners where sparrows like to nest.
>> Open grain stores that attracted the birds have given way to modern gated supermarkets.
>> Increased pesticide usage in public gardens has left no food for sparrows to feed their offspring.
Little birdie, big impact
Sparrows play a vital role in the ecosystem by controlling insects in crop fields. In 1955, China eliminated nearly two billion sparrows as part of Mao Zedong’s Four Pests campaign. It snowballed into a famine in 1959, killing millions.
