Coimbatore: House Sparrows and migratory birds are the talk of the town in recent days. But are only the sparrows under threat? Common birds are aplenty in the city and hence we take them for granted. These Synanthropic birds that live close to human habitation also need to be cared for and protected if they are to be kept from going extinct.
Coimbatore: House Sparrows and migratory birds are the talk of the town in recent days. But are only the sparrows under threat? Common birds are aplenty in the city and hence we take them for granted. These Synanthropic birds that live close to human habitation also need to be cared for and protected if they are to be kept from going extinct.
Common birds
Mention 'common birds' and most often to most people, it is the house crow that comes to mind. However, according to Raveendran Natarajan, the Founder and President of Irakugal Trust for Nature Conservation which is a Madurai-based NGO opines that based on Indian climate, environment and species of trees, 35 to 45 species of birds could fall under the 'Common Birds' category since they are known for living close to human settlements.
Some of the most Common Birds are myna, sunbird, house sparrow, blue rock pigeon, white-throated kingfisher, common kingfisher, black drongo, cattle egret, black kite, rose-ringed parakeet, green bee-eater, Indian robin, ashy prinia, jungle prinia, red-whiskered bulbul, coppersmith barbet and rufous treepie.
Claiming that these birds were flexible and adapt to human environment easily, Raveendran said that the mynas which are one of the frequently-sighted birds were getting more adaptable and flexible to the changing environment today than house crows. He further added that since birds including house crows, mynas and black kites depend on food wastes dumped by humans, they are prone to contacting diseases than those living in forest areas. “As we are able to find these birds everywhere in large numbers, we fail to notice their suffering. Further intensive research has to be done in this area,” he opined.
Food, habitat and effects
Recollecting how the usage of diclofenac pesticide has affected the vulture population drastically in recent years, pushing them to the brink of extinction, Raveendran reiterated that negligence and negative influence of humans could prove dangerous to the bird population.
Birds feed on insects and pests. In our country, there is widespread usage of pesticides and fertilisers to aid growth of crops.
Birds which feed on these crops and pests are directly affected. Urea which is commonly used for plant growth kills most of the peafowl and other birds, according to Raveendran. Based on his observation, of the 40-odd crows and many other common birds that come to a water tank near his home in Madurai, seven percent of them have some form of disability or the other. He also stressed the importance of bringing these birds under medical observation to find the root cause of their illnesses and implement necessary measures to protect them.
Raveendran states that the visible effects in birds that are endangered are cross bill, change in shape of beak, losing strength in limbs, skin rashes, feather fall which are all occurring, physically. Invisibly, they are affected by bacteria and viruses and also becoming a medium of transferring some diseases.
Steps to be taken
Fortunately, national-level studies on Synanthropic birds are being conducted by research institutions run by the Central Government but the results have been alarming. "We are currently studying their population status all over India and have found that most of them are declining in number,” said C P Ashwin, who is currently studying Synanthropic birds. "The research team have identified lack of proper knowledge, habitat loss, poaching, scarcity of nesting and foraging space, usage of pesticide and climate change as major threats to these birds.
“It is ironical that these so called 'common birds' are actually becoming uncommon these days. It is high time we removed them from the list of birds of least concern and give them more importance to preserve them better. We should do proper studies, create awareness among people, set up nest boxes and water pots, and also reduce the usage of pesticides. Planting more trees will be of great help too,” he reiterated.
Benefits for humans in protecting common birds
“Apart from others, an important characteristic of local birds is scavenging. They are very much helpful in sensing the ecological changes even without spending a lot of time in bird-watching or surveys. The rise or fall in population of these birds or any other changes happening in the environment could be easily identified through them, since they are physically and in behaviour, very close to humans,” says V Kirubhanandhini, Junior Research Biologist from Coimbatore.
Seconding her view, Raveendran says that birds play a major part in controlling the population of rats, insects and pests. “Since we – the living beings on earth are dependent on a common food chain – it is necessary that everything in that food chain is balanced. And so are birds,” concluded Raveendran.