The melodious chirping of sparrows that many of us would wake up to every day, in our childhood, is now sadly, just a memory. With more and more towering buildings replacing the natural flora around us, the once ubiquitous bird is now, no longer a common sight.

#WorldSparrowDay is being observed today!

To raise awareness regarding the same, World Sparrow Day is observed every year on March 20. The day is an initiative by the Nature Forever Society of India, and was started in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world.

The day is designated not only to conserve house sparrows but also discuss methods that would help other common from increasingly becoming endangered.

What Is World Sparrow Day?

It also aims to provide a common ground for people, from different parts of the globe to put up a collective front against extinction of birds. Mohammed Dilawar,an Indian conservationist who started the The Nature Forever Society is often lauded for his effort for saving sparrows.

On this day, people on social media are urging to not only to save the bird but also to take care of them during summer. “Lifestyles have changed , we have made life difficult for these beautiful small creatures,” wrote one while another wrote, “The beautiful, chirpy birds we grew up watching in our gardens n backyards are diminishing in numbers. Painful not to spot a single one in most places.”

We bring to you some of the lesser-known facts about sparrows:

There is a stark distinction between male and female sparrows. Female ones have brown backs with stripes while the male ones reddish backs with black bibs.

Sparrows are gregarious creatures and hence live in colonies, known as flocks.

They can swim at a fast pace if they sense danger.

When it comes to their nests, sparrows are quite protective although they aren’t territorial in nature.

Male sparrows construct nests and it is during this process that they attract their female counterparts.

The longevity of a sparrow is about 4-5 years when it lives in the wild.

Where have all the sparrows gone?

World Sparrow Day was first celebrated in 2010 when members of the Nature Forever Society started communicating the need to save these birds with the help of national and international organisations. Mohammed Dilawar, founder and president of the Bengaluru-based society, said they have identified places in the city which have a considerable sparrow population and will be working with the locals to put up bird feeders and nest boxes to increase the number of sparrows.

Impact of World Sparrow Day

The impact of World Sparrow Day has been significant on a global level. It has given people around the world a network where they can work together and exchange ideas about conservation and public education projects. This exchange of ideas is crucial for improving the information surrounding house sparrows and other common bird species. Improved information leads to more reliable science which, in turn, results in more efficient and effective conservation programs and efforts.

Its goal of offering a meeting platform for people around the world has been successful.

This platform has been an important componenet in raising conservation awareness and promoting other outreach and advocacy initiatives. World Sparrow Day has spread the message that it is just as important to conserve common species as it is to conserve and protect rare and exotic species. In August of 2012, the house sparrow became the state bird of Delhi. This was announced at the Rise for the Sparrow campaign, carried out by the Nature Forever Society.

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