When did you last see a Golden Oriole or a Fantail Flycatcher in your locality? Forget the fancy names, do you remember clicking a Woodpecker or a Hornbill, or even the common sparrow? Once a common sight everywhere in the city, from Malabar Hills and Chembur to Goregaon and Uran, these birds have all but disappeared from the city today. Halfway across the country, in the colder climes of the Eastern Himalayas, many of the sparrow and woodpeckers’ distant cousins, are facing the same threat. The main culprit? Human beings.u00a0

Spotbill ducks are no longer seen in Mumbai due to the disappearance u00a0of wetlands. Pic Courtesy/ Adesh Shivkaru00a0