It is rarely that you see a Shikra and definitely not in the middle of the city! You would be more likely to see a Shikra on the outskirts of the city, out in the open fields farms and forests. The sighting of the Shikra surprising though it might be, could be a sign about the impact of development and population explosion on the environment. Wildlife, birds and animals are being forced to move to the cities in search of food.
While the sparrows have disappeared from the middle of the city, they can be still found in the outskirts of Gurugram, especially sector 57 and sector 62. Their place conveniently has been taken up by the thousands of pigeons that perch on the power lines. Strangely enough, the sparrows have been replaced by Tailor-birds, Kingfishers birds and now Shikras. This, in itself, could be as a result of the shortage of insects and grains for the sparrows. The arrival of the Shikras and Kites could be as a result of the presence of rodents.
All of these birds are forest or wetland dwellers and to see them in the middle of a bustling city is certainly surprising. Shikras are hunters and they can be seen diving for rodents and frogs. The Kingfisher too is a hunter that hunts if not fishes for fish. They probably can't find fish in the middle of the city, so they have probably switched to eating insects and small rodents instead of fish. The Shikra too must have been drawn to the cities in search of small rodents. The only other possibility is even more frightening, however! The increasing piles of garbage in the city could also have enticed these forest dwellers to easy food. If they are drawn to the garbage then there can be only one conclusion- these magnificent hunters have turned scavengers!
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