Nesting in a Crowd: Response of House Sparrow Towards Proximity to Spatial Cues in Commercial Zones of Guwahati City

摘要

Westudied the nest site characteristics features of House Sparrow Passer domesticus in highly crowded commercial zones of Guwahati city, Assam, India. Active nests of House Sparrow were recorded during the peak breeding season— February to April 2013. A total of 106 nests were recorded, out of which 36 % of nests were in colonies having more than two nests with a maximum of 20 nests in a single colony. The shutters were found to be the predominant substrates for nest construction. The average nest height was 3.78 ± 2.18 m. Most of the nests were recorded in less than 5 m height. The habitat patch selection for nesting might be a response to food availability or protection against abiotic factors. The availability or proximity of suitable foraging sites seems to be an important feature for nest site choice. The shopping centers with glass facades (exterior construction of the buildings) do not providemuch space for placing the nests. The development of modern buildings is going to be a major threat to the breeding sparrows in near future.