Over last few years the number of House Sparrows, once found in quite abundance in Kolkata, have reduced significantly! I heard and read the news, but didn’t encounter that until this lockdown. Truly, once the most frequent visitors to our house and garden, now have become a rarity.

I remember quite vividly, during my schooldays, in the lonely afternoons of those scorching summers, only audible sounds were the ‘caw’s of tired crows and constant chirping of those house sparrows. They really loved our Sabeda (Chikoo/Sapodilla) tree, playing hide and seek throughout the day, cuddling in the dirt below it. But, now they are not residents of our surroundings anymore! I believe now they use our house as a stopover for their journey! I took this picture during such a stopover, our bamboo pole on the rooftop being used as the resting area.

চড়াই/চড়ুই

The clear distinction between the male and the female is evident from this image bellow. The males have brown napes, blackish throats and black-brown mixed wing pattern. The females have similar color combinations, but significantly lighter and thus can easily be distinguished from their male counterpart.

Resident of West Bengal.

• Usually seen in a small group of 2-5.
• Love shrubby areas.
• Feed on small insects, pulses etc.
• Found to make their nest in unused/less used parts of houses, such as air ventilator, holes in brick or wooden structures etc.
• A bit restless and very playful among themselves.

They are permanent resident of our state and probably the second most common bird after house crows. As their name suggests, house sparrows love to stay close to houses or humans. Therefore they don’t need any birding hotspot or forested area to thrive. Although I started with a pessimistic view, but after my birding experience till now, I can say, they are doing fine in my city.