I just
got to know that it's the World Sparrow Day. And then there was this link that
my friend posted on her wall. Made me really happy. Even though we hardly see
the sparrow or the Indian House Sparrow anymore, according to that link, they
are not disappearing. They are still here. And we can still do something before
the cute little chirping birds that used to wake us up in the mornings when we
were young, disappear completely.
The other day, the Mysore spotter exclaimed that he saw a sparrow after ages. That made me happy. First, because, well, it's a sparrow. Who does not get happy by thinking of a sparrow?! And secondly, I had been seeing sparrows everyday. And not just one or two either, but a host of them (Oh yeah, I googled this- a group of sparrows is called host. Or knot. Even a quarrel). So it made me a little happy that Delhi may not be that bad for sparrows after all.
Anyway, I read some pretty interesting things about
this tiny creature. Apparently, though they usually eat grains (like pigeons),
while breeding, they start eating insects (I guess they need more nourishment
before the young ones arrive). Another very interesting fact that I came across
was that they can swim. And not just in your birdbaths either (which as the
name suggests, is for taking a bath, not a swim), but in proper water bodies. I
don't know why it surprises me so. I mean they are pretty light... They'll float
anyway. Also, did you know that the House Sparrow is the State Bird of Bihar
and Delhi?! Noticing the need to conserve the status of the bird in the
Capital, it was declared the State Bird on Aug 14 2012. Another big day for the
little bird to celebrate in the capital! :)
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Image courtesy: http://archive.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_images/tree-sparrow-by-dani-studler.jpg |
So yeah, just in case you don't know what I am
talking about, sparrow is one of the most common bird in the residential areas, therefore, also referred to
as chidiya colloquially in Hindi speaking regions. Its Hindi name is Gauraiya
and in Kannada it is called Gubachi. It is brown in colour, with a white
belly. With a black beak and patterned feathers, this bird flies with a
flutter. And pretty fast too.
Check out this link for more interesting details
that made my day.
Oh, before I go, an interesting fact about us: We
wanted the name Gubachi for our blog, but sadly that was taken. So we dedicated
it to another little bird, Skippy. More on that later!
Happy Gubachi Day People!
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