The house sparrow is the Latin name of the house sparrow or common sparrow – a bird found throughout Eurasia. Both the adjectives “domestic” and “ordinary” in the name of the species referred to its commonness – sparrows were seen every day, often nesting under the overhangs of the roofs of houses, sheds, churches or rural barns. Recently, however, their number, especially in cities, has been decreasing rapidly.
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Why don’t we see sparrows in Polish cities anymore? These birds are becoming fewer and fewer
Sparrows are small birds, several centimeters long. Their characteristic brown color makes them similar to mazurkas, also known as field sparrows. Cousins of house sparrows have a distinctive black spot on the cheek. The house sparrow is a charming bird whose small build and unobtrusive color arouse universal sympathy. Unfortunately, this species is gradually disappearing from Polish and foreign cities.
According to “Dziennik Toruński”, 30% of birds of this species have disappeared from Toruń and Bydgoszcz over the last 20 years. The Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences has determined that over three decades, one third of house sparrows have died in Warsaw. Disturbing data is also provided by prof. Tadeusz Mizera from the University of Life Sciences in Poznań, who studies this species in the capital of Greater Poland. According to prof. Mizery, in the local district of Sołacz, 90% of sparrows have disappeared since 1980, and in the Old Zoo only 5 pairs of 60 remain. In Great Britain in the 1970s there were 12 million pairs of sparrows, now half of this number remains.
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– The Old Market Square in Poznań was once full of sparrows. They jumped on his cubes and looked into the plates of people sitting in cafes and restaurants. Today they are almost non-existent – notes prof. Mizera in an interview with Zielona Interia.
Why are sparrows disappearing from cities? There are many reasons
It is worth noting that about 6-7 million pairs of house sparrows still live in Poland. This species is far from extinct, but the rate of decline should be worrying. Unfortunately, aspects of contemporary reality that can be called ecological activities also contribute to the decline in sparrow numbers. This is about modern, thermally tight construction.
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Building well-insulated buildings, of course, reduces the carbon footprint and saves energy, but such buildings often lack holes, gaps, crevices or breaches, and these are places where sparrows used to nest. Now they usually seek shelter in hedges, where, unfortunately, they lose the fight with other, larger birds. These include mainly pigeons, which, unlike sparrows, have adapted perfectly to the urban environment, which can certainly be noticed when visiting the central areas of Krakow, Poznań or Warsaw.
However, increased thermal insulation of buildings is not the only reason. We are dealing with a truly deadly combination of many factors for sparrows. There are no longer so many horses in the cities, and with them the oats that the sparrows ate from the pastures have disappeared. These birds also feed on insects, seeds and fruits. The lack of these things in cities is mainly due to lawn mowing – in semi-wild, slightly overgrown grassy areas it is much easier for sparrows to find food. Polluted air also reduces the number of insects.
Will the sparrow ever return to Polish cities?
In an interview with Zielona Interia, prof. Mizera draws attention to the example of the Old Zoo in Poznań. Sparrows used to be particularly eager to nest in the local lion’s den. Unfortunately, the building has recently undergone renovation, and with it the double wooden wall where birds built their nests between the carvings disappeared. The new structure has no such places.
Sparrows lose their natural habitats and have to move to other places, where they lose the war for food with larger birds, including the already mentioned pigeons and rooks. Eggs and chicks of sparrows are often prey to larger individuals. Due to this and the smaller amount of natural food, this bird is doing increasingly worse in Polish cities.
What can we do about it? One option is to build nesting boxes. In Poznań, the city campaign “Wróblu, come back!” encourages this. Prof. Mizera, however, is skeptical about this solution. It may simply turn out to be insufficient. Another path is to create new buildings in consultation with ornithologists, so that they can indicate architectural solutions that will provide sparrows with better nesting places. A good solution may also be to limit the maintenance of urban lawns – this will make it easier for birds to find food there.
– Read more: This will be the year of cicadas! Trillions of insects will come to the surface of the earth
Sources:turyka.wp.pl, zloteprzeboje.pl, zielona.interia.pl, Dziennik Toruński
Fot. Canva (Victor Tyakht; 27707)
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