According to Dilawar, mobile phone towers pose one of the biggest threats to sparrows, and other birds like the tailorbird, mynah, sunbird, and even squirrels and human beings. He quoted a recent survey by a New Delhi-based organisation that found electromagnetic radiation pollution in Mumbai due to mobile phone towers is 200 percent higher than the permissible limits.

'This means we are sitting in an X-ray environment all the time. For the common sparrow, it causes irritation, it reduces their reproductive capacity. Even if it lays eggs, the hatchlings are either destroyed or born with serious deformities,' he explained.

Though the species is sturdy, sparrow chicks have a high - up to 50 percent - mortality rate that affects the bird's overall population, according to Dilawar, who has a masters in ecology and environmental studies, specializing in zoology from Manipal University.

Dilawar compares the fate of common sparrows in the environment to that of the 'common man in a democracy - nobody bothers about him'.

He pointed to the menace of corporates, housing complexes and even public authorities obsessed with artificial landscaping using exotic and imported plants, which will ultimately prove to be green deserts.

Sparrows, according to Dilawar, are nature's barometer. 'If there is a significant shift in their numbers around us, it's a warning signal for humans,' Dilawar asserted.

House sparrows are hardy creatures with a life span of three to 13 years, able to survive in all temperatures and up to 15,000 feet above sea level.

One of the reasons for the decline of sparrows is the sale of thousands of catapults used to target birds. 'It's a lethal weapon, shooting at a speed of 40 feet per second and must be banned,' he urged.

Field surveys for the sparrow study will begin in Nashik in October and go on for three years following which the project will be replicated all over the country.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)