News: December 2004

The RSPB have announced a major new research project to throw more light on the reasons behind the decline of the house sparrow in the nation's capital.

The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) has been declining in many parts of the country, particularly urban areas, for a number of decades. Nowhere has this decline been more marked than in the gardens and parks of London: for example there were 2,600 house sparrows in Kensington Gardens in 1925; but in 2000 there were just eight. This four year study into the breeding biology of the house sparrow is being coordinated by the RSPB's new London team.

Anon. London calling for house sparrows. Viewed on the web at http://www.rspb.org.uk/england/southeast/action/london/calling.asp on December 13th 2004.