World Sparrow Day 2016 observed globally

20 March: World Sparrow Day

The World Sparrow Day was observed across the world on 20 March 2016 with the theme Rise for the SPARROW-Experience the power of one. The theme has been inspired by the hope that more and more of us will celebrate the relationship between People and Sparrows.

The day is designated to raise awareness of the house sparrow and other common birds to urban environments, and of threats to their populations.

The sparrow, especially the common house sparrow, is one of the most ubiquitous birds on earth and is also one of the oldest companions of human beings.

The day is observed in almost 50 nations and involves leading ornithology institutions and bird organisations.

The Sparrow Day is an international initiative by the Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world. The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010 in different parts of the world.

World Sparrow Day aims to provide a meeting ground for people from different parts of the world to come together to play an important role in advocacy and in spreading the awareness on the need of conserving common biodiversity or species of lower conservation status.

What we can do for the conservation of sparrows?

1. Put bird boxes and bird feeders outside your house or in your gardens.

2. Water-bowls or a bird-bath in the hot summer afternoon helps sparrows to re-hydrate.

3. Grow plants and hedges that are native to the place. This encourages sparrows to come back.

The rationale for celebrating World Sparrow Day is not only to commemorate the event for a day but to use it as a platform to underscore the need to conserve sparrows as well as the urban biodiversity.

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