Our Special Neighbours - I : Common Sparrows

One of the advantages of living in a suburban area is the increased interaction with both flora and fauna. Living in an area that has many large trees and open fields brings us that much closer other living creatures than a pure city existence would. This blog will now include special posts featuring these species that we share our neighbourhood with.



Our first house guest: the common sparrow. When I spot a family of sparrows conferencing on the grills of my kitchen balcony every morning, it feels good to know that we live in an area where correlation between the varied species isn't skewed yet.




The common sparrow disappeared from metropolitan areas like New Delhi many years back. I remember my mum grumbling about sparrows eating up saplings from her garden many years back when I was a student. Afterwards, their population dwindled every year, and now the city holds no place for them. They have been ousted by bigger birds like the common mynah and the uiquitous grey pigeons. Smaller birds cannot thrive in the city because they are unable to find safe places to roost, and there are no tall, bushy trees to accomodate their nests.


While my mum has been rid of the sparow menace, I welcome them to my balconies every morning. We awake with their chirps, and hear their cheeps all day. :) In fact, they have almost monopolised our birdbath but I feel lucky to have them around rather than the pigeons.


Hope you enjoyed meeting today's guests. Subsequent posts will feature other creatures that we regularly spot in the neighbourhood.