Where are they?

The first ever World House Sparrow Day celebrated today seeks to put the spotlight on the plight of these little chappies, mainly because it is assumed they are in no danger of dying out. They were all over Chennai, once upon a time. Today, they are to be seen only in a few localities, places where urban development, in a sense, has remained where it was about a generation ago - like Linghi Chetty Street, where today's picture was taken.

The fall of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) has been attributed to several factors, from modern buildings not having the eaves preferred as nesting sites by the sparrows, to microwave radiation from cell-phone towers. Some of them seem reasonable but some border the consipiracy-theory category. This is not just a Chennai-only phenomenon, but really a global concern; as yet, the IUCN does not regard the P. domesticus as being a 'vulnerable' species, though they acknowledge that the population trend is declining. Researchers too are hard pressed to come up with an explanation that covers all the facts, especially when many still believe that the house sparrows continue to be as common as it was during their childhood - even if they can't remember having seen them near their apartment.

One reason, from a Chennai newspaper a few years ago: "With diminishing tolerance among the younger generation, sparrows are denied entry into houses to nest and breed. People even enlist expert opinion on how best to get rid of nesting sparrows." Well, they did create a lot of noise and a bit of mess in our house during my childhood, but I'd rather take that than have these little birds go extinct!