http://environment.independent.co.uk/wildlife/article2836188.ece
Urban sparrow under severe threat from new housing
By Roger Dobson
Published: 05 August 2007
"A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough, without ever having
felt sorry for itself," wrote DH Lawrence. Not so today's suburban
sparrow, which is in trouble as towns and cities expand and green
spaces grow smaller and scarcer.
According to new research, house sparrows are in a sorry state, with
their numbers reduced dramatically by too many houses. Researchers
found that numbers of the birds, including the chirpy males, decline
rapidly when gardens and green spaces in towns and cities are converted
to housing.
In the new study, the researchers, who say little is known about the
birds and their habitat in urban areas, looked at sparrow densities in
1,223 randomly selected urban areas in the UK measuring 500sq m and
where there was a relatively high human population.
The numbers of chirping male house sparrows and of all house sparrows
were analysed separately, and the results show that residential areas,
allotments and farm buildings were key predictors of sparrow density
and chirping male density.
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