Eco India: Why are sparrows continuing to disappear from Indian cities?

[@soniadas8679]

I'm from Northern part of Tripura. Here sparrows are living in my house from last 15 years and every year at the time breeding they give birth to their children. Blessed to have them in my house❤

[@hritenghosh4294]

But trend is here in Tripura too, in Agartala they are very rare.

[@eswaribalan164]

They lay eggs in nests and hatch them..mammals give birth. Sorry am always correcting my kids.

[@hrisikeshbhattacharya5467]

Your name is Bengali tho? Do you know how to speak any of the original Tripuri languages?

[@kb8519]

​@@eswaribalan164 they give birth via eggs she meant mem

[@djsjsjjejebfbdj]

They're completely gone from Bangalore. I miss having them around.

[@bboyneon92]

Very emotional. I miss the sounds of sparrows in my city. This video brings warmth, comfort and realization.

[@hasanurrahman9365]

Me too

[@buttercup9903]

I live in NYC and I’m glad to say that we have a lot of house sparrows. Many people here don’t like them because they aren’t native, but I love them ❤️🥰

[@valardohaerris]

Watched this video with heavy heart. I grew up with these birds at our place but with time I forgot how joyful life we had during those days, I will visit this place very soon and sit with these sparrows for a while. Thank you Scroll team for making this video.

[@charmaine8512]

I remember sparrows living with us in our lawn and home. They loved to live with us building nests in the neem henna hedging on the lawn and flew in and out of our home. This was in Kota Dam which was a Hydel project done by Hind Construction in the early seventies in Kota, Rasjasthan. Sad to hear they were disappearing but now that humans are doing what they can to revive them. Enjoy your work.

[@islandsunset]

Pigeons are a major competitor for sparrows in urban areas.

[@chandanpiku]

I love this bird a lot .... It's been a part of lots of happy memories of childhood ..... ❤️

[@lathapauline1063]

When i was a small child, my mom used to feed sparrows everyday and it really amused us with their chirping. Today I'm 50, cant see a single sparrow in urban bengaluru

[@paulperry7091]

Disappearing in Australia as well. Outcompeted by mynas (another imported species), but the main reason is that they need bushes close together to move from one place to another, and there is a lot less shrubby areas in cities now. Absolute peak time for sparrows was back in the days of the horse, when they thrived on undigested grain from horse droppings.

[@maureensamson4863]

Sparrows seem to thrive in villages and small towns of India .... perhaps it's the small shops with open sacks of grain outside , and grain being picked over on doorsteps . Small houses are also more conducive to providing nesting space.

[@swarupsaha4087]

Are they native to Australia...?

[@paulperry7091]

@@swarupsaha4087 Not native to Australia - they were imported from England, around 1860. Colonists very unwisely imported numerous animals, birds, and plants from the "Old Country" and many (like rabbits) became terrible pests. The mynas were imported to kill insect pests in market gardens at the same time - another pest!

[@swarupsaha4087]

@@paulperry7091 that's sad to see so many invasives in Australia...got to do something ib war footing to curb these invasives...

[@Adnancorner]

House sparrow IS AN IMPORTED SPECIES IN AUSTRALIA and the Americas.

[@neharathore655]

This video made me bit emotional and nostalgic. We humans get so busy with life I almost forgot I grew up seeing the house sparrows every single day. Today I wonder, where do they all go?

[@senaozer2349]

Unfortunately, this is also true for my city Istanbul. We used to have a lot of them and it was always pleasant to hear their chirps.

[@aaqsajid]

Hats off to all associated with this project.. 🙏🙏🙏

[@sagaronline265]

Very pleasant to hear those chirping after many many years.

[@user-pp8cr2gz7w]

I used to wake up during my school days by the whispers of these sparrows but my children are not fortunate to see these sparrows in our surroundings.

[@rathinpaul1057]

I love Sparrows . Please bring them Back . They Are Real Angels . They are children of Gods .

[@Sunnykr275]

Used to see them in South Delhi like 10,11 years ago. But increasing pollution and daily traffic of Delhi population made them dissappear thankfully I see them in places like this always when I get time I try to feed them. These are childhood memory for me and others who have seen them growing together they Should have been protected from all these kind of harsh environment. Well good to see them in place like this. Amazing video and explanation! 🐦

[@kajalchauhan8361]

Me living in village of Haryana,in our area . Around my house lots of variety of trees are there . field alsothere .Houses also . Everything is balanced.Sparrows are wonderful.i love them, blessed to see them daily.

[@ayush885]

The reason is pigeons. Everywhere that sparrows live, pigeons can live as well, pigeons being much larger, can easily scare away sparrows. Sparrows are left to places so small where pigeons can't enter.

[@darshita1270]

Sparrows are some lovely little birds, feed them some foxtail millets and put a bowl of water.

[@bhatkrishnakishor]

In my childhood house, we had placed a carton box which the sparrows made a nest and lay eggs in it. It was just amazing to have these small birds coexist with us. But when I have moved to big city, lack of these bird erks me.

[@suhaibmomin6824]

In Pakistan we are facing the same problem. Good for india that they have started such a great work

[@rock5989]

Remembering that when i was kid used see these sparrows so much specially in my village. Nowadays i live in town when i see them it's like miracle.

[@monikaanand5213]

I suggest we all put a handmade or artificial bird house at our home or balcony..in banglore on 19th floor, munia bird came nd made nest in my balcony..so lovely to watch them on my balcony

[@rahulmandal3230]

Last time i saw a sparrow in Delhi was during lockdown after many years, these are lovely bird, in my childhood i used to feed them but now they are nowhere near to my house.

[@atinyshineforever9252]

In nepal it was seen less for 7-8 yrs but now they've came back so happy to see them😊 (not only sparrow but parrot,dove etc weren't seen i'm speculating if its becoz of earthquake )

[@Sukanya-ld8yb]

We need one of this habitat in Bangalore !! ❤... Great work on trying to get them back !! 🎉

[@TheMegapenthes]

It is so heartening to see so many sparrows! God! Can't imagine one day I'll be watching sparrows with delight, something which so common a sight during my childhood. I remember I would shoo them away from my balcony if I saw a couple of them nibbling wheat-grains spread out on the floor. And today, I'm watching them in this video with a lot of warmth. How much time has changed!

[@S.Ghosh_221]

I remember Sparrows once in my neighbourhood in Kolkata. Now I don't see them anymore. But I have seen increasing numbers of crows, Spotted Doves, Myna and Kites. Sparrows couldn't adapt to urbanisation in my opinion. They still are extant in outskirts where there are trees and soil.

[@aryans5129]

I have a couple of nests even right now in my house in bihar. Have been seeing them from childhood....and I've noticed that the major cause of their declining population are: 1) Habitat destruction (as more and more pucca houses are being built, they are not getting spaces to build nests). For that, we'll need to create some kind of structures in backyards or something for them to dwell. 2) Lack of availability of water - as we're achieving higher and higher coverage of piped drinking water, no waterbodies or even puddles are left in outdoors where they can drink water and bath. For this we need to create small water storage structures in outdoor/ terrace gardens/roofs in which water is refilled frequently. Overall, the major cause for this issue is our changing architecture.

[@siddharthaganguli5299]

Very heartening and inspiring story.. Thanks a lot.

[@green2stayecoswdmarketingn339]

Thankyou, always been fond of common sparrows, in fact here in Suburban Sydney sparrows were very prevalent,,now they've completely disappeared and NOBODY has even mentioned it🤔

[@hunterhq295]

These sparrows look like the ones I see around my place in Malaysia

[@CoronaViRUS-nk7dx]

Masih ada ker tempat kau... tempat aku dah tak ada dah pipit rumah ni.. bertahun-tahun dah tak nampak burung ni

[@aonyx5270]

Lack of insect food due to pesticides has to be the biggest factor.

[@anaibarangan4908]

I'm actually beginning to watch a movie, "All That Breathes", about black kite birds that fall from the sky in New Delhi because of the pollution, and two brothers that care about them, care for them.

[@watISee]

Thanks for saving Sparrows !

[@SaumyaShiro]

Hats off to Heroes of Earth 🙂💚

[@believeroflight9888]

I don't think it is because of lack of food. My area has many type of birds . Even parrots, hummingbirds , weaver birds and the notorious kabar . But all of them are thriving , just sparrows are vanishing. The reason is not scarcity of food.

[@loveistheway8417]

In Canada ive never seen sparrows living inside but i remember many sparrows living in the city nonetheless. There used to be as many sparrows as there were pigeons. Now i hardly ever see any. I miss them

[@motherlandbot6837]

The single most important reason (of many) is seriously worsening air pollution. House and Tree Sparrows, like all passerine birds, have superefficient respiratory systems that make them extremely vulnerable to air pollution. Physiologically, they are no different from the "Canary in the coal mine". Even episodic air pollution has long term effects on small birds.

[@Melvin641]

Great job guys ❤

[@Cascadia007]

This is true, there used to a lot of them in my backyard , but now they aren't. I miss those sparrows and squirrels and crows making sounds and living together in harmony

[@PNBcreation8806]

Great initiative to save the sparrows.. .

[@calebbhandoo]

Very true, we like citizens of the country should take a step towards preserving not only our heritage but also towards saving our wildlife. A small step like setting up an bird feeder outside the house for sparrows especially makes a big difference.

[@maureensamson4863]

I have heard cases where building residents have objected to the feeding of birds on balconies.... if I remember rightly , the matter even went to Court and the ruling was against feeding the birds . Please clarify , in case this is misinformation .

[@lucykelly7152]

@@maureensamson4863 It may depend on local laws. Make sure you elect animal friendly politicians. People who don't like animals are mentally ill. They lack empathy. It is actually a serious illness called psychopathy. Such people really belong in mental hospitals. They are uncaring. They are the kind of people who commit murder, or war crimes.

[@ashokbishnoi299]

सभी महानुभावों को शत शत शत

[@Restore2761]

Miss those chidiya's 😭😭😭😭😭please come back

[@SaumyaShiro]

Great work 🧡

[@rajnishsingh1094]

Good documentary 👏

[@chrisaguilera1564]

"The end of days is marked by the sound of silence."

[@arnabrajshow8988]

For whole child hood I saw decline of sparrows in my city, it’s concerning, an wonderful creature is now going away from us

[@navneetrama]

Myna is also a big reason of disappearance. We can see more mynas and crows in india now a days. These words tough and resistive to the modron life style

[@mahfuzulhaquenayeem8561]

It may turn to be a wrong "calculation" for being sad on the human consciousness seeing that such a provoking video on nature conservation received only '1.5K likes' out of '35K' viewers.

[@deepakpratapgangwar583]

Great work....nagar van, city forest, biodiversity sites, r urgent to be notified

[@siddharth7857]

Well the video was good but you should have also given us some tips on what we citizens can do, living in cities and high rise apartments.

[@oceantravelers1235]

I have rescue and pet many house sparrow and in our area there are lot of house sparrow. One day I had seen more than 1000 of house sparrow flying in the sky together at evening.

[@prathibakrishna]

What can we(common person) do to bring back sparrows ? a kind of guide would be more helpful. Thanks for the awareness video.

[@lucykelly7152]

Maybe use birdfeeders. Maybe put up a nestbox. Plants bushes for them to nest and hide in. Especially bushes which produce berries that they can eat. Put out water. Tell others about the need of small birds for these things. Join a bird conservation society.

[@AmitSingh-fg9mj]

As you move east you find more n more of them. The house i was grown up in was the house of these sparrows also.

[@ZubairKhan-tf4gl]

Sir, I want to install many nests for sparrows. Where can I get them.

[@12villages]

We used to have terracotta roof(laal kavla) in mumbai where sparrows would prefer nesting under the wood columns supporting the Kavla. Then people replaced them with cement/asbestos roofs and destroyed their ability to nest. At night, they prefer resting on bor(jujube) trees because its thorns kept predators away. These have also been cut down and ugly buildings have been built in its place. Then another disaster happened. People started keeping cats to keep rats under control. Millions of cats in every locality raided sparrows left and right every single day till they left on their own like kashmiri pandits from the valley. Mumbai is now dominated by two birds - crows(70%) and pigeons(30%) and two animals - dogs (40%) and cats(60%). Destruction has already happened and no municipality did anything to stop it nor realised it happened.

[@kingsleyperera9655]

They dissappeared from Srilanka Cities too but are very very slowly emeging in small towns !

[@jerolvilladolid]

Sparrows are not biologically designed to live in concrete cities full of toxic carbon monoxide smoke and poisonous food and water found in garbage cans. They were designed by evolution to roam clean forests and marshlands. The fact that sparrows managed to thrive this long into human encroachment of their habitat is the true mystery.

[@S507107314]

I am from Hyderabad and am really disappointed to see Pigeons over-populating all over the city and as a bird watcher, I have been noticing this pattern for the last few years. We have to limit these pigeons to allow other birds to come back into city

[@محمدآمنہعامر]

Pigeons are pests , They are causing irreparable damages to our ecosystem .

[@rams5380]

but there are sparrows in hyderabad

[@KumarD-m9e]

Super

[@jamsheertirur1758]

Very lucky people to live here 🐥🐦

[@Jmatad21]

In older times, the disappearance of sparrow would be taken as a warning of a big famine to come.

[@Deetoxreview]

Save sparrow 🐦🐦

[@chigurysalmanchi6674]

Too much in our house like hundreds of them and sometimes a menace or may be they're migrating to our house. I'm from Meghalaya.

[@xyzpeace7814]

Sparrow visits ladakh during spring time n stays till late Summer... But in coming years sparrow migration has decreased...

[@junii741]

There are a lot of sparrows in Kashmir, but i travelled to himachal, here i don't see any sparrows.

[@eswaribalan164]

Birds create jungles. Birds drop seeds all over my lawn which is full of tree seedlings. But yes, no house sparrows.

[@tarunsharma_995]

Good people are still left !!

[@tsheringbhutia6402]

we had sparrows in our house,they use to live in our roof top..but now they have disappeared...

[@madhurajr4454]

Wow

[@gtablurt5791]

Useful creatures that eat insects that helps rice farmers.

[@iamdevs]

That Sohil guy in this video seems to have smoked up 😜😜

[@abc_cba]

Most of them die due to shock of the sounds of firecrackers during the festival of Diwali. The remainder are dying with extreme heat and climate change. Thankfully, Germany has somehow worked on halting their extinction of Guraya or Sparrow as we call them.

[@CHIBItheSPARROW]

It's not just sparrows, all songbirds are in decline, along with most other animals. We are in the middle of the 6th great animal extinction and have only ourselves to blame for this one.

[@rohitsindhav7971]

In Rajasthan uniara my home town having sparrows but now days pecockare not seen easily and trees are become less

[@indian9632]

I put out water for birds in the summer. Please everyone do it. Its tough for them to find water in the summer

[@Mr_sagar-r4z]

Please give some writen information

[@YayantumewA]

👍👍

[@tarunsharma_995]

The delhi forest department.. seems hope is left ,!!!!!!

[@raviyadav-py6no]

What can people living in urban settings do to help them flourish.

[@Ayush-ku5jm]

Which month sparrow come to nest

[@SuzanaMantovaniCerqueira]

😢

[@sunk785]

My feveret birds and I enjoyed a lot with this bird's in my childhood, I love these birds,. I am suspecting cell phone towers rediation may causing for this issue

[@kira988]

Mere Ghar k paas sparrow bht aate the ab kam aate hain.. mgr main unke liye pani aur khana rakha karta hoon

[@protickkhandkar]

I don't think this way

[@ChaitanyaArige]

Please we need to conserve them ...

[@karate4348]

Sparrows and bats I watched them and then their disappearance (sparrows..bats lasted) in Western Londin especially...now bats in the semi tropical raingforest of se qld. Mobile signals, pesticide, lack of bushes.... Humans..we have to stop mucking up magnificent nature.

[@PRC7700]

Pakshiraja❤

[@sabihatanveer8494]

👌🌿🐜🕸🦅

[@sunk785]

Please save them..., Cutting trees for urbanisation may causing these issue....

[@bryangomes373]

🙏🙏❤️💚💚

[@naveenabaleguli]

I have heard people saying that the mobile tower radiations are killing these birds. Is that true?

[@Jmatad21]

Only in south indian movies

[@Venissa28]

Sparrows are disappearing from India because they don't like India. And they are migrating to other countries. I am not joking this is a fact.

[@Jmatad21]

They are talking about sparrows, not your family story.

[@myplanetmyreligion48]

What a common man should do to get back the sparrows , would have been more beneficial..

[@maheshyogi5913]

They have disappeared after mobile towers came into existence. I remember them seen them committing suicides. As long as landline was there black and white tv was there cable was there they were there. Afterwards mobile internet towers came! And sparrows were gone

[@jsrrishi6008]

The reason I fear the harful effects of 5g network

[@minipuri1903]

No place to make nestfor sparrows. They are very shy with humans.

[@Shanthakumar]

5G