Not enough food, nests, crows vanish from Bengaluru

 The population of crows in the City has come down by almost 60 per cent over the years, according to ornithologists and birdwatchers.

After the decline in sparrow population, this comes as a shock for Bengalureans and ornithologists, says Manjunath Prabhakar, a birdwatcher. “The huge tree near Gayathri Vihar on Palace Road used to be abuzz with cawing crows. At any given point in time, one could easily spot at least 80 nests. But now, especially in the past two years, I have not seen many nests. Instead, many dead crows are sighted on the City roads,” he said.

Ullas Kumar R K from Eco Watch pointed out that there was also a rise in the number of dead crows being spotted. This is because the meat they eat has a lot of pesticides and chemicals. When crows feed on dead rodents that have been poisoned to death, they also die. There is lack of nesting spaces for the bird and neither do they have adequate food sources like before, he added. M B Krishna says this is because the number of trees has come down and human population has increased. Unlike pigeons, which nest on buildings, crows need trees.

They search for places which are free from human habitation. They are important for the eco-system because they feed on rodents and discarded meat. They help in keeping the environment clean. Since they are easily disturbed by human presence, they are moving to other locations where there are trees.