Possible conservation methods of sparrows in China

Abstract

Tree and house sparrows are the most common sparrows in China, but sparrow populations have experienced extreme, man-made declines in history. Sparrows have been listed as beneficial birds in China, but the protective behavior of sparrows is almost invisible. This paper discusses the status of sparrows in China, compares the protection and coping methods of sparrows abroad, and provides possible protection schemes: (1) to provide adequate high-quality food sources in sparrow habitat; (2) to reduce the impact of habitat fragmentation; (3) to reduce unnecessary human intervention on sparrows; (4) to identify sparrow’s ecological functionality correctly. Future studies should incorporate more factors to comprehensively assess the need to protect sparrows.