Where have the sparrows, crows and pigeons vanished?

Has anyone noticed that we are gradually losing out on our feathered friends? It is a problem not unique to us but is a global problem and the reason is their loss of habitat. Trees are being felled to put up multistoried buildings to accommodate human beings and the birds are paying the price.
Common birds like sparrows, crows, and pigeons have more of less vanished from our surroundings and, while there is relief from their menace like droppings, we have lost their company. There is no sound of chirping of the sparrows or the cawing of crows or the homely sounds emitted by the pigeons as they liven up the dull afternoons.
World Sparrow Day is celebrated on March 20 and, ever since it was declared as the state bird in 2012, no action has been taken in Delhi to take care of the gradually sparrow population in the city.

The reason for the disappearance of these birds is that we have usurped their spaces, we have displaced them from the trees and the nooks, corners and cornices of our house. Gone are those magnificent houses of yore that had pillars and ventilators – these used to be the favorite nesting places of the sparrows.
We have embraced the skyscrapers where we have receded into our shells where fresh air from the windows will make us catch a cold. Where we want to shut out menaces like flies and mosquitoes. Hence, we have installed sliding windows – they guarantee safety.
And, when we need fresh air we install room fresheners, switch on the air conditioner and occupy the couch with the TV remote in our hand cutting ourselves off from the world around us. We retreat into a world of make believe and forget about the world where flowers bloom, where butterflies flit showing off their colors, where the silence around us is broken occasionally by the sweet melodies of our feathered friends. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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