House sparrows, once a prominent presence in many villages and towns in southern state of Kerala, are fast disappearing from capital Thiruvananthapuram. A recent bird survey conducted ahead of the 'World Sparrow Day' which falls on Thursday could spot only about 127 sparrows in the city, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. A group of amateur bird watchers with the support of World Widelife Fund-Kerala spent three days looking for sparrows in various locations in the city, where the birds could be seen in high numbers in the past.
The group spotted sparrows in six areas at the Palayam market, Chalai market, museum and zoo compound, Central Railway station and KSRTC terminal in the city.
Palayam and Chalai markets had the highest numbers of sparrows.
While Palayam market had an average of 25 birds during the three days, Chalai market had between 30 to 70.
Shockingly, only one sparrow was spotted at the railway station premise while not a single one could be found at the museum and zoo campus throughout the study period.
The bird watchers attributed the dwindling sparrow population in the city to the rising number of concrete buildings and reduction in the availability of food.
Source: Bernama, March 21, 2014
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v7/wn/newsworld.php?id=1023619
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