Sixty-six per cent of the 340 million additional birds were from just eight booming species: blackcap, chiffchaff, blackbird, wren, goldfinch, robin, woodpigeon and blue tit. While 900 million birds vanished in total, 203 of the 378 species studied increased in number. That means increasing the scale and ambition of nature-friendly farming, species protection, sustainable forestry and fisheries, and rapidly expanding the protected area network.” She added: “We need transformative action across society to tackle the nature and climate crises together. The conservation of House sparrows is essential as it had proved to be well suited for studies of general biological problems and pest control,' Pattazhy said.īased on his findings, Pattazhy submitted a memorandum to the Union Government and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) last year seeking steps to protect this birds from extinction, following which the government ordered a three year project to investigate into the decline of house sparrows.“Our study is a wake-up call to the very real threat of extinctions and of a Silent Spring,” said Fiona Burns, lead author of the study and a senior conservation scientist for the RSPB.īurns said next year’s meeting of the UN convention on biological diversity was crucial to creating a strong framework for preventing extinctions and recovering the lost abundance of many species. But the eggs which are laid in nests near towers failed to hatch even after 30 days. 'One to eight eggs can be present in a clutch. The birds which nests near towers are found to leave the nest within one week,' he said. They become incapable for navigation and foraging. 'These towers emit a frequency of 900-1800 MHz, continuous penetration of EMR (electromagnetic radiation) through the body of birds would affect their nervous system and their navigational skills. However, according to Pattazhy, unscientific proliferation of mobile phone towers had in recent times emerged as a major factor in the decline of house sparrow population. Widespread use of garden pesticides, which kills insects that are vital diet of new-born sparrows, disappearance of open grass lands, rising temperature and avian-unfriendly modern architecture had also grievously harmed the sparrows.

Many reasons could be cited for the situation like introduction of unleaded petrol, the combustion of which produces compounds such as methyl nitrite, a compound highly toxic for insects, the researcher said. The study conducted during 2008-2009 in railway stations, foodgrain ware houses and human dwellings had shown that at present these small birds had virtually vanished in Kerala. This trend was alarming especially in the urban areas due to a host of factors including 'unscientific proliferation of mobile towers,' Pattazhy, who conducted a study on the subject, told reporters Recent studies had shown that the population of house sparrows was on the decline in many parts of the country, including Kerala, said Dr Sainudeen Pattazhy, Associate Professor of Zoology at SN College at Kollam. Britain’s Royal Society of Protection of Birds has enlisted the house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in the 'Red List’ on the basis of the findings of researchers in different parts of the world including those from India.