Successive Re-establishment of Introduced House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) at a Remote Village: Mupparthipadu, India
Veerá Mahesh1, 2* and Suseela Lanka 2
1,2Sparrow Protection and Rehabitation Organisation (SPARO), Jangareddigudem-534455, Andhra Pradesh (India) 2Department of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Krishna University, Machilipatnam-521004 (India) Corresponding Author, e-mail: veeraamahesh@gmail.com ORCID: V. Mahesh 0000-0002-8227-9310; L.Suseela: 0000-0001-8843-8223.
ABSTRACT
House sparrow was once a familiar bird in human habitats. Due to various reasons like habitat loss, lack of food resources, pesticide residues in the food grains, the sparrow population declined globally. Recent surveys also revealed that the sparrow population is still under a declining trend. A status survey conducted at the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, (India) revealed that the sparrow population was declined by 90% and above. In some villages, the House Sparrow is totally evanescing. The current modifications in the house design are unable to provide cavities for their nesting. The only method to perpetuate their population is Artificial Habitats, by providing Nest Boxes. Several conservational studies state that their number increased by providing artificial habitats. For a experimental study, we have introduced six couples of House Sparrow in a remote village, Mupparthipadu, in the year 2017. The entire process includes- trapping the sparrows, transportation, and releasing them into the new area by following a systemic procedure. The utmost care was taken for the released population by providing paddy, rice, and water at each house of that location. We have also installed about 20 nest boxes in the place where the sparrows were released. By 2021, their population was increased to 100+ in that village during the course of four years.