World Sparrow Day: Spare a thought for the tiny bird
World Sparrow Day is celebrated on March 20 every year
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-03-20 17:01 GMT
Mumbai: The common house sparrow is one of the most ubiquitous birds that we see around us and is one of the more familiar winged companions of human beings. It has, over a period of time, evolved with us but off late this bird has been on the decline over much of its natural range, both in the urban and rural habitats.
With March 20 celebrated as World Sparrow Day, as an awareness about the threatened status of the bird which has disappeared from most localities. Habit destruction and unavailability of their food are considered to be the main reasons for their decline in number. The World Sparrow Day is now an internationally recognised day, observed in almost 50 nations, and involves leading ornithology institutions and bird organisations.
According to worldsparrowday.org here's what you can do:
- Put bird boxes and bird feeders outside your house or in your gardens.
- Water-bowls or a bird-bath in the hot summer afternoon helps birds to re-hydrate.
- Grow plants and hedges that are native to the place. This encourages some of the common birds to come back.
- Discourage the use of excessive insecticides and pesticides in gardens.
- Create awareness about the decline in number of sparrows