House sparrow is Delhi's state bird

New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) The humble house sparrow was Tuesday conferred the status of Delhi's 'state bird'.

The decision was announced at a function to inaugurate the "Rise For The Sparrows" campaign aimed at saving the tiny, endangered bird, said Nature Forever Society chief Mohammed Dilawar. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was present on the occasion.

"This decision will go a long in raising awareness and attention on the house sparrow and provide an impetus to its conservation efforts all over the world," Dilawar told IANS.

Dikshit's spokesperson Satpal said the campaign would formally be kicked off Wednesday on the occasion of India's 65th Independence Day.

Expressing concern over the lack of attention paid to the house sparrow, Dikshit urged Indians to monitor the bird and other common birds Wednesday for 15 minutes and help collect vital data.

She urged people to register with www.cbmi.in and called upon corporates, NGOs and educational institutions to become official partners of the Common Bird Monitoring of India (CBMI).

A brainchild of Dilawar, the CBMI and "Rise For The Sparrow" are aimed at creating awareness on common birds and to attract all sections of Indian society to help in their conservation.

Dilawar urged the Delhi government to incorporate CBMI in its school curriculum and make all educational organisations bird friendly.

He said Delhi was one of the greenest cities in the world and offered tremendous scope for urban conservation, for which the house sparrow would act as a mascot and a bio-indicator.

Dilawar was one of the 30 Heroes of Environment selected by Time in 2008.