The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Nashik-based Nature Forever Society will jointly intensify their efforts to create awareness about the sharp decline in the population of sparrows and other small birds across India from March 20, which is observed as the World Sparrow Day.

"The theme this year is 'Chirp for the Sparrow, Tweet for the Sparrow' aimed at building public opinion for conservation of small birds. The main event will be held in Bengaluru in the Wipro campus," said Dr Asad Rahmani, Director BNHS.

BNHS and Nature Forever Society, in collaboration with international organisations such as Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France), Avon Wildlife Trust (UK), Cornell Lab of Ornithology (USA) and numerous other institutions around the world, have been creating awareness about sparrow conservation over the past couple of years as sparrows found across Asia, Europe and Africa have been declining in numbers drastically.

"This year, World Sparrow Day will highlight the significance not only of the sparrow, but all the common birds and biodiversity which are often overlooked," he said.

"Our objective is to communicate to bird lovers at various levels such as individuals, organisations, research institutes and experts in different fields. Regular updates regarding this work will be circulated on national and international bird groups, which have thousands of members," Rahmani said.

Nature Forever Society has collated photographs and information on 22 of the 26 sparrow species found worldwide on its website. Another dedicated interactive website www.worldsparrowday.org. will have all the related information on various events to be organised worldwide, press resources, logos, posters and images from this day onwards.

Some of the reasons for declining sparrows include change in building architecture, urban green desert, changing attitudes and lifestyles and radiation from mobile towers and cell phones, Rahmani pointed out.

"Today's common species are tomorrow's threatened species, if timely conservation measures are not initiated," he said adding that the best example is that of vultures, which till a decade ago, were one of the most common raptor in the countryside. Today, vultures are on the brink of extinction.