Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns on House Sparrows: Comparative Study from an Indian Context

TL;DR

This study investigates how COVID-19 lockdowns in India affected House Sparrow sightings, using statistical analysis to determine if the bird populations have increased due to reduced human activity.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of House Sparrow sightings before and during COVID-19 lockdowns in India, highlighting the ecological impact of reduced human disturbance.

Findings

Increase in House Sparrow sightings during lockdowns

Statistical evidence of positive impact on sparrow populations

Potential implications for urban ecology and conservation

Abstract

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the last couple of years have been drastic in terms of human behavioral patterns. People were forced to stay at home for a very long duration because of the strict lockdown measures imposed by governments all over the globe. India was no exception, wherein the Indian government imposed several very strict lockdowns all across the country, which restricted human activities and their social behaviors. However, such restrictions were seen to have a positive impact on environment and ecology. In this paper, we aim to study the changes in House Sparrow sightings, as a result of the lockdowns. Are the house sparrows back? is the question we try to answer, using appropriate exploratory analysis and statistical modelling.