Distribution and dynamics of House Sparrow- Passer domesticus L.in some rural and urban places of Athani Taluk of Belagavi district,karnataka.

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1 Distribution and dynamics of House Sparrow- Passer domesticus L.in some rural and urban places of Athani Taluk of Belagavi district,karnataka. Linganand Gavimath K 1 and B.B. Hosetti 2 1 Research Fellow, Dept of Applied Zoology, Kuvempu University, Shankaraghatta, Shimoga. Karnataka. Corresponding author linganandjkd@gmail.com 2 Professor, Department of Applied Zoology, Kuvempu University, Shankaraghatta , Shimoga. Karnataka. Hosetti57@gmail.com ABSTRACT The population of House Sparrows is decreasing day by day due to many reasons. The Royal society for the protection of Birds (RSPB) and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) have planned for the protection of small loveable bird, House sparrow. A 12 months study has been conducted in four field stations in Athani taluk of Belgaum district. the population dynamics of House Sparrow Passer domesticus from April 2016 to March 2017, Regular field trips have been made to the selected field stations in rural areas such as, Nadi ingalganv, Chamakeri, Buralatti and Khavatkoppa in different seasons for a year. Similarly, in urban areas of Athani town the areas such as Hudco colony, SS Market, Shivayogi Nagar and Renuka Sugars have been visited periodically in different seasons to acquire data on the ecology of House Sparrow. A total of 12 visits to each of eight sites have been made during the 12 months study. In all four rural field stations and four urban field stations, the data on number of House Sparrows and their nests have been documented. It was found that in all the four rural field stations atotal of 225 males, 238 females and a total 463 number of House Sparrows have been reported and duly recorded. Similarly, 109 males, 110 females and a total of 219 House Sparrows recorded in four urban field stations in Athithi town. This amounts to 68% of House Sparrows present in rural areas, where as only 32% of them exist in urban settings. The main reason for decline in population in urban areas is, the loss of habitat or roosting areas and nesting sites and non-availability of food sources. Similarly the decline is observed in rural areas too, as the number is gradually decreasing due to the up-gradation of the human settlements from thatched huts and mud houses to cement structures and roof of cement sheets. This resulted in loss of domestic habitat of House Sparrows. Apart from this the excessive use of pesticides, lack of food sources, air pollution, mushrooming micro wave towers etc in urban areas may be the cause for dwindling number of House Sparrows in Urban areas. Key words: House sparrow, conservation, population decline, nesting, effect of radiation. 1) Introduction : House Sparrow- Passer domesticus L. is a most common bird found throughout the world and also in both rural and urban areas of India. It is a small bird that prefers to live with human settlements. The population of house sparrow- Passer domesticus has been declining gradually according survey conducted by present study. The number decreased because of human activities, predators, insecticides, modern style of house, lack of food, and Electromagnetic radiation by mobile towars etc.( Balmori,. and Hallberg, 2007). During the past 3-4 decades in Karnataka, and elsewhere in India and Europe, the house sparrow number decreased (EBCC, 2015). It is listed as Least Concerned (LC) by IUCN. in India however it is red listed in the UK. There is no special efforts made to conserve this species in Karnataka state or elsewhere in India except by some organizations and individuals distributing Sparrow nests in some places. The fast decline of the Sparrows has been created an alarming situation, yet seems no holistic approach is being made elsewhere except expressing the sympathy for the decline.(fig.-1) Hence there is a need to protect this little bird of pastoral setting from further decline. 117

2 General Features of House Sparrow : Size cms. Wing span cms Weight gms Clutch of eggs: Eggs in one clutch. 2) Study Area : Athani Taluka is the largest taluk in a Belagavi district. With a total area of km 2. According to human census of India, the population of Athani is 62,886, Males constitute 61% of the population and females 59%. Athani has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average, with 69% of the males and 79% of females are literate. The city is located at 140 Kilometers from the city of Belagavi and 70 Kilometers from Vijayapur and miraj and 590 Kilometers from Benguluru (Fig-2). Figure 1 : A pair of House sparrow in the study area 3) Ecological importance of House Sparrows: Each and every life form on the Earth has its role to play as a part of web of life. There is an inter-relationship between one species to the other in the food chain. If one of the links in the food chain collapses, the impact will be exerted on the rest of the life forms for a longer period of time. However insignificance the life form may be, the absence of it may bring forth the disastrous effects on the ecosystem. Accordingly the House Sparrows are the integral part of the ecosystem on earth and it has its own role to play in the food chain and flow of energy. The House Sparrows are omnivorous, eat both insects and grains. By eating insects they they help humans in the biological control of pests. It is estimated that there are about six to 10 million species of insects that potentially represent 90% of the different animal life forms on earth ( Novotny, Vojtech et al., 2002; Erwin Terry, L ) Reasons for Decline of House Sparrows :The population of the small bird that lived for many centuries within the human residences, suddenly declined in recent times. Everywhere in both and rural areas of the country, the decline of the population of House Sparrows is strikingly noticeable. The people of age group of 60-70, years and above fondly remember their childhood memories of Sparrows. Now this age group expresses their bitterness over the sad and fast decline of House Sparrows from both urban and rural areas. There are many factors behind the decline, yet some of the major reasons for their fast decline are as include, a. Modernization of residential houses: b. Change of rustic life and loss of food base: c. Loss of nesting sites : d. Excessive use of pesticides: e. Effect of microwave towers : f. Air Pollution : 5) Methods and materials: In order to estimate the density of House sparrows in each study area, a census of House sparrows was undertaken from April 2016 to March 2017 for a period of one year in eight study areas of Athini Taluk in Belagavi district. All surveys were undertaken before 6.00am to 9.00am and pm to 18.00pm of Indian standard time (IST). Regular field visits were made during this period on every Saturday and Sundays in all seasons. The study was mainly focused on survey of the population density and dynamics of House Sparrows both in four urban and four rural areas. A powerful binocular with 10 x 50 power made by Nikon was used to track and trace the birds with a safe distance. Canon 5X-540 digital bridge camera with 1,200 mm zoom was used to capture images of the sparrows throughout the study period. GPS German equipment is used to record the GPS coordinates of the study area and the sightings of the sparrows. For the purpose of survey of the Sparrows, the following methods were used. 118

3 Line Transects: In the study area both town and village streets were used as transects.each streat was visited and observed on either side by two persons simultaneously involved during observation. The idea of Walking and counting all the birds sighted is simple and easy to count. By continuous moving, it is possible to cover more ground in a fixed time than by any other methods. Line transects were divided into small sections and considered small line transects that are relatively uniform in their length and size. To avoid double counting of birds detectable at long range always, two persons were involved during the study. 6) Result and Discussion: A yearlong survey conducted to understand the population of House Sparrows and their dynamics. In the initial visits, the location has been identified and transect lines were formed in the identified study area, that spread in four rural and four urban areas. All the positive sights of the House Sparrows, were promptly recorded in the prescribed format using GPS equipment. Apart from this, the author met the elders and opinion of leaders of the local area of target villages and urban areas to gather more information and insights about the Sparrows and their decline. Data pertaining to the population of House Sparrows, such as location of the sightings, number of Sparrows with gender, number of nest and the clutch size, preference of nesting locations, feeding habits etc., recorded in periodical visits and finally the entire data has was compiled in Excel Sheets of Microsoft software in Desk Top Computer. On the basis of the data, the following analysis was made. The four rural areas selected as rural field stations for the study are, Nadi ingalgaon, Chamakeri, Buralatti and Khavatkoppa located in different parts of the Athani taluk in Belagavi district. Similarly, urban field stations in urban localities such as Hudco colony, S S Market, Shivayogi nagar and Renuka Sugars in Athani town were selected for the study. It was found that in all the four rural field stations 225 males, 238 females and a total 463 number of House Sparrows have been identified and recorded. Among the above more number of birds were recorded in Nadi Ingalagaon with 125 individuals and Buralatti with 124 individuals. The number was relatively high in rural area, compared to the urban areas due to the presence of rustic life style still in the rural areas. Even today there are some old mud houses and thatched huts present in the rural areas and also age old practice of harvesting, drying and cleaning of grains takes place still in these villages and this is because of human provide food grains to House sparrow. The people feel that the number of Sparrows in olden days were more and the decline is evident. Even in rural areas, the huts and mud houses are gradually being replaced by cement sheet and roofed houses and concrete buildings. Yet the population of Sparrows is thriving well in rural areas (Table-1) (Fig-3). Similarly, 109 males, 110 females and a total of 219 House Sparrows were recorded in four urban field stations in Athithi town such as Hudco colony, S S Market, Shivayogi Nagar, Renuka Sugars respectively More number of birds recorded in and around Shivayogi nagar and Hudco colony. The major reason for this is the availability of favorable conditions for the House Sparrows from these housing colonies. Here most of the houses have a garden with small flowering plants and bushes, which provided a resting ground for the birds and some of the crevices, discarded post boxes, deserted boxes, bamboo poles, Ziziphus trees etc, provided place for both roosting and nesting for the birds. Hence the population is comparatively more in these two housing colonies. Whereas comparatively low population of House Sparrows was observed in the other urban areas which revealed presence of less favourable conditions, (Table-2) (Fig-4). When compared the occurrences of House Sparrows in both rural and urban areas, 68% of House Sparrows present in rural areas, where as only 32% of them exist in urban settings. The main reason for this large difference is again the change in the structures of human habitations more in urban areas that deprive the House Sparrows from comfortable living. But the rural areas still have retained the old traits of the human dwellings which is favoured by the House Sparrows. Hence the population is high is the rural areas, (Table-3) (Fig-5). The result clearly showed the occurrence of house sparrows more in rural areas, where as comparatively low occurrence is found in the urban areas. If provided a safe shelter and place for nesting it is evident that, the house sparrows can flourish in urban areas also. 7) Conclusions: The main reason for decline in population in urban areas is, the loss of habitat or roosting areas and nesting sites and nonavailability of food sources. Similarly the decline was observed in rural areas too, as the number gradually decreasing due to the up-gradation of the human settlements from thatched huts and mud houses to cement structures and roof of cement sheets. This resulted in loss of domestic habitat for House Sparrows. Apart from this the excessive use of pesticides and consumption of insects that were killed by the pesticide resulted in accumulation of poisonous chemicals in the body of House Sparrows lead to the thinning of the Egg Shells and unsuccessful hatching. And lack of food sources, air pollution, mushrooming micro wave towers etc., in urban areas may be the cause for dwindling number of House Sparrows in Urban areas rapidly. It is necessary to create awareness among the farmers to adopt natural or organic farming and prevent use of chemical pesticides. Also necessary to sensitize the students, youth and general public to build sparrow friendly houses, place sparrow nests and grow fruiting trees around their habitation. If provided conducive conditions, the House Sparrows again chirp in the corridors of the houses in both urban and rural areas. 119

4 8) References : 1. Ali,S. and Ripley, S.D Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan.10 th Ed.OxfordUniversity Press, Bombay. 2. Anandan G, Kumaresan M, Thomas A, Benickson C,and Devi R.C. (2014) The House Sparrow is homeless: A Small Attempt to Conservation. Biodiversity Endanger Species 2:124. doi: / Balmori, A. and Hallberg, O., The urban decline of House Sparrow (Passer domesticus); A possible link with electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 2007: BirdLife International Passer domesticus. (Amended version published in 2016) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: Retrived on 30 November Census of India, 2011: retrieved on 4th October, Dandapat, Anjan, Deepak Banerjee,and Dibyendu Chakraborty, The case of the disappearing House Sparrow (Passer domesticus indicus). Veterinary World, Vol. 3(2). February Pp District Statistics of Belagavi: retrieved on10th October, EBCC Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme. Available at: 9. Erwin, L Terry Tropical forests: their richness in Coloeptera and other arthropod species. The Coleopterists Bulletin Ghosh, Samik; Kim, Ki-Hyua: Bhattacharya,R; A survey on House Sparrow Population Decline at Bandel, West Bengal, India. Journal of the Korean earth science society, Vol 31, Issue 5, 2010, pp Green.R.E, Long-term decline in the thickness of eggshells of thrushes, Turdus in Britain. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B (1998) 265, Hole, D., Whittingham, M. J., Bradbury, R., Anderson, G., Lee, P., Wilson, J. and Krebs, J Widespread local housesparrow extinctions, Nature.418 : Hosetti, B.B Wildlife Management in India. Pointer Publishers, Rajasthan India, ISBN Hosetti, B.B., Somanath, B.C. and Naik, K.L Eco-ornithological studies on Gudavi Bird Sanctuary, Sorab. Shimoga.Cited in Trends in Environmental Biology. Eds. Tripathi, G. CBS Publishers, New Delhi. 15. Irfan Mustafa, Ghani.A, Arif.N, Asif, S, Khan.M.R, Waqas.A, Eqani.SAM., Irum,S, Malik, I.U and H. Ahme, Comparative Metal profiles in different organs of House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and Black Kite (Milvus migrans) in Sargodha district, Punjab, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Zoology, Vol.47(4)PP 1108, Sharma, S.K Ornithobotany of Indian Weaver Bird. Himashu Publications, Udaipur, Rajasthan. 17. Sudheera.H.S. and K.V.Gururaja, Distribution of House Sparrows in Bangalore, India. Gubbi Labs Working Paper series, Paper Summers-Smith, D The House Sparrow Passer domesticus, Population Problems, Ibis.101 : ) Figures and Tables: 120

5 Table-1: Occurrence of House Sparrows in rural field stations of Athani taluk of Belagavi district. Name of the village Male Female Total Nadi Ingalaganv Chamakeri Buralatti Khavatkoppa Total Table-2: Occurrence of House Sparrows in urban field stations of Athani town of Belagavi district. Name of the urban Male Female Total locality Hudco colony SS Market Shivayogi Nagar Renuka Sugars Total Table-3: Comparison of occurrence of House Sparrows in Rural and Urban areas of Athani taluk of Belagavi district. Locality Male Female Total % Rural Urban Total