Are sparrows beneficial birds or harmful birds, and is a declining population a good thing or a bad thing?

Whether sparrows are harmful birds or beneficial birds is a question that is very hard to answer. It depends on the angle from which you look at it. But in recent years, the number of sparrows has been declining severely. Is this good or bad?

Sparrows are not particularly rare animals, just a common and widespread bird species. Children in the past may all have had experiences of coming into contact with sparrows, but children today actually have few opportunities to see them. When landscapes and terrain change, we easily sense the deterioration of the ecological environment, but when species around us disappear, we are often completely unaware, and even less aware of how serious it is. Sparrows are probably the bird species whose population changes have been most keenly felt in recent years.

In the past, sparrows were regarded as harmful birds because they ate rice grain, but this was actually a serious misunderstanding. Nowadays rice matures at most two times a year, and on top of that, the cultivation of miscellaneous grains is limited, so for most of the time they are eating the caryopses of grasses, or preying on insects. With two to three breeding periods each year, the young chicks need sufficient protein food, so the amount of insects sparrows prey on must be very large. If sparrows decrease, insect pests will become severe, and we will probably have to face the predicament of spraying pesticides again.

Whether sparrows are beneficial or harmful to agriculture may still have room for discussion. What is worth reflecting on is this: if even the sparrows, with their strong reproductive capacity in the countryside, are sharply declining, then what does that mean? In fact, protecting sparrows well means protecting our rural homeland, and also protecting our own survival. There are surely still places where our rural ecological environment can be greatly improved.

Also, the change in sparrows' behavior of gathering in cities is also worth investigating and studying. What impact they will bring, and what inspiration they offer to humans, I find very intriguing. Nowadays, when I see sparrows on the road, it feels like meeting familiar fellow villagers. I always stop in my tracks especially, and look at them a few more times, as a way of showing respect.