Once an integral part of the urban eco-system and a morning alarm for many, sparrows today are dwindling in number.

On World Sparrow Day on Friday, schoolchildren took up their cause, holding banners and shouting slogans.

More than 100 schoolchildren held a rally beginning at City Centre mall in Banjara Hills to raise awareness on the issue. The students, from various schools and age-groups, then pledged to actively contribute to a sparrow database being initiated by green activists. As part of this exercise, the student will record the sparrows spotted in their neighbourhood and share details so as to get a fair idea of the prevalence of the bird in the city.

The event was organised by CALBAC (Citizens Action for Local Biodiversity Awareness and Conservation) and Saptaparni. Rajani Vakkalanka of CALBAC said sparrows were going extinct because of concretisation and the destruction of native species of trees.

Sparrows are also an important part of food production as they are known to feed on pests that destroy crops, she said.

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Schoolchildren bat for saving the sparrow