Bengaluru Bird Day celebrations organised at National College in Jayanagar on Saturday.

BENGALURU: Do you remember spotting a small yellow bird jumping on bushes and chattering? Called common iora, the bird will only remain in our memories with over 95% of the species having vanished from the city.

Experts at the Bengaluru Bird Day , which was observed on Saturday (September 28), said apart from sparrows , several other small songbirds are disappearing.

Ulhas Anand, a birdwatcher and the co-founder of Eco-Edu, said common iora was seen in almost all gardens and old parts of the city a few years ago. However, ornamental gardens, lack of bushes and degradation of ecology in the city are causing birds like common iora and white-eyes to disappear. “We all promote planting of trees. What’s also important is planting of bushes and shrubs, which are the habitats of these small birds,” Anand said. Apart from loss of habitat, these birds also struggle to find food as there is a dearth of insects and worms even in gardens and parks. “We are spraying insecticides everywhere, which is wiping out their only source of food ,” Anand added.

Dr Krishna MB, a city-based ecologist and ornithologist, said Bengaluru has experienced a 70% loss of green cover in the past few years and has also lost many lakes, making survival of several species difficult. But the silver lining according to experts is the increasing number of birdwatchers. “There are over 50,000 birdwatchers in the city alone,” Anand said. The number of people interested in wildlife photography, nature and birds is increasing by the day, which is a positive sign, he added.

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