Sado Wildlife in Focus | Are Sparrows Disappearing?

Sparrows, beloved by the Japanese and celebrated in children’s songs, are now vanishing at a rate comparable to an endangered species. This unsettling trend was highlighted in a government report released in October 2024. Four years earlier in 2021, I relocated from Tokyo to Sado Island to photograph Japan’s Special Natural Monument, the crested ibis. Recently, I turned my lens to sparrows for the very first time.

Sparrow Dango!

Winter transforms Sado Island into a stark, chilly landscape. The vibrant autumn foliage is gone, and the rice fields lie bare after the harvest. Hoping to capture images of sparrows — a bird I frequently saw during harvest season — I set out in my car.

I expected to find them quickly. Instead, the crested ibis, as usual, made its appearance. However, there wasn’t a sparrow in sight.

“Not today, you guys,” I murmured as I passed the ibises, resolute in my search for sparrows. After over three hours of driving, I finally spotted them.

“Sparrow dango!”

There they were, a large group of sparrows huddled tightly together among the reeds, resembling skewered sweet dumplings. This behavior, referred to in Japanese as “sparrow dango,” describes how sparrows perch in close clusters, evoking the image of sweet dumplings on a stick.

Why Are Sparrows Disappearing?

Sparrows, measuring about 15 cm long, are native to Japan and widely distributed across the Eurasian continent. Thriving near human settlements such as urban areas and farmlands, they feed on seeds, insects, and even food scraps. Despite their proximity to people, sparrows are highly cautious and will flee at the slightest disturbance.

A study conducted by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment from 2005 to 2022 analyzed data from 325 satoyama sites. The findings revealed that sparrow populations are declining at an annual rate of 3.6%. This meets the criteria for classification as an endangered species on the Red List, which requires an annual decline of 3.5% or more.

Likely causes of this decline include fewer traditional house eaves favored for nesting, shrinking farmland, and fewer insects due to environmental degradation.

Mass Sparrow Killings in China

What about Sado?

Masaoki Tsuchiya, head of the Sado branch of the Wild Bird Society of Japan, commented on the local sparrow population. “We’ve never conducted a survey,” he said, “but I don’t think their numbers are declining.”

However, sparrow populations in Sado saw a sharp decline in the 1950s and 60s. During this time, China, under Mao Zedong, implemented the Four Pests Campaign (1958–1962), which targeted sparrows, alongside rats, mosquitoes, and flies, for mass extermination. Tsuchiya speculates, “Some sparrows migrate, so it’s possible that China’s mass culling of sparrows contributed to a decline in migratory populations during that period.”

In Japan, sparrows have also been regarded as pests because they tend to feed on crops. Yet, they serve an important role in consuming insects. In China, the large-scale extermination of sparrows reportedly led to an explosion in insect populations. That ultimately contributed to a catastrophic famine.

Sparrows Are Also Part of Biodiversity

Finding sparrows proved to be more difficult than I anticipated. With winter setting in and food sources like seeds and insects scarce, sparrows gathered in groups rather than spreading out. That was likely to avoid predators. Even when I spotted them, their skittish behavior — far more cautious than the crested ibis — caused them to take flight almost immediately, adding to the challenge.

Japan once allowed the crested ibis to go extinct. Restoring its population has required an immense investment of time, money, and unrelenting effort, including reducing pesticide use on Sado Island. We cannot let sparrows, a vital part of nature’s balance, suffer the same fate. Their presence is a reminder of the critical need to protect and preserve biodiversity.

This is the 17th in the series, Sado Wildlife in Focus. Read more essays by photojournalist Fumie Oyama on Japan 2 Earth, a JAPAN Forward website featuring Japan's initiatives on the SDGs.

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Author: Fumie Oyama