Passer domesticus (House Sparrow) Population in Urban and Rural Areas in Jodhpur (Rajasthan, India) and Conservation Measures

Birds are the common indicators of ecosystem health.Passer domesticus (House sparrow) is the most familiar bird to humans.Within the last 3-4 decades, birds are declining all over the world; house sparrow is one of them.The present study was carried out to know the present status of house sparrow in urban and rural areas in Jodhpur district in the year 2022.Seasonal survey by using Line Transect Method (Anderson et al., 1979) was carried out for which each area was divided into three sites in urban area-Main market sojati gate, Mandore krishi mandi and Nehru park.Likewise three sites were chosen in rural area-human habitat area, agricultural land and fellow/pasture land.Except this, direct observation and discussion with people was also done.The result shows that population density of house sparrow was found lowest (0.2/km) in the city areas whereas highest (4.78/km) in fellow/pasture land.In the study it was also noted that it likes to nest on Ziziphus and Prosopis like thorny shrubs and tree to prevent it as well as the young ones from enemies.House sparrow eats insects thus helpful in maintaining ecological balance and forms a part of food chain.New research in 2022 from Kings College London has found that seeing or hearing birds is associated with improvement in mental wellbeing.Habitat destruction, UV rays of mobile towers, use of pesticides and insecticides, decreasing human sensitivities towards others, packed houses, increasing roads and traffic and competition for food, artificial feeding on hard surface are some reasons for decline of its numbers.We can conserve them by using artificial nests, bird feeders, planting big trees, constructing some selves outside the houses and by preserving a corner of endemic plant species in offices and big institutions.