World Sparrow Day

• 23 Mar 2022

Why in News?

Every year on 20^th March, World Sparrow Day is observed to raise awareness and protect the house sparrows.

What are the Key Highlights of the World Sparrow Day?

• About:
  
  • The Nature Forever Society of India and the Eco-Sys Action Foundation of France came up with the idea for World Sparrow Day.
  • The idea was to dedicate a day for the house sparrow in order to spread the word about its protection.
  • The first World Sparrow Day was organised in 2010.
• Theme for 2022:
  
  • I love sparrows.
• Significance:
  
  • The day is observed to raise awareness on the plight of the sparrow, which is on the verge of extinction.
    
    • House sparrows were a common sight in our backyards, and they were easy to see. However, due to the loss of nature and biodiversity in recent years, spotting house sparrows in the city has become more difficult.
  • The idea is also to use it as a platform to emphasise the importance of sparrow conservation and urban biodiversity.
• Most Common and Widespread Species:
  
  • The humble house sparrow is one of the world’s most common and widespread species.
  • Apart from the house sparrow, there are other twenty-six distinct species of Sparrow.
    
    • All these species are spread across three continents namely Asia, Africa and Europe.
• Reasons for the Decline:
  
  • Increasing pollution, urbanisation, global warming and vanishing ecological resources.

What are the Characteristics of the Sparrows?

• The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is perhaps the most widespread, commonly seen wild bird in the world.
• It has been transported all over the world by European settlers and can now be found on two-thirds of the landmasses of the world including New Zealand, Australia, North America, India and Europe.
• It is only absent from areas like China, Indochina, Japan and areas of Siberia and Australia to east and tropical Africa.

Source: Mint