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Original Research Article Vol.5, No.2 — July - December, 2026 Pages: 46-55

Population Distribution of Two Sympatric Sparrow Species: House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) in Urban Areas of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), Assam, India

Dipika Chetry1, Eliza Basumatary1, Pranjit Kumar Sarma2, Sujit Deka3, Jatin Sarmah4 and Hilloljyoti Singha1*

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19436419
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Abstract

We studied distribution and population densities of House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) along urban–suburban gradients in five district Headquarter towns of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), Assam—Kokrajhar, Kajalgaon, Udalguri, Tamulpur, and Mushalpur. We used 500 × 500 sq. m grids, selecting one point randomly in each grid. Stratified point count surveys (30 m radius, 5-minute counts) were conducted from April 2022 to June 2024 in different seasons across Commercial Areas (CA), Residential Areas (RA), and Suburban Areas (SUA). We did not find significant difference in population density of both the species among different seasons and two successive years as well as between the sexes in House Sparrows. We combined the data for further analyses. Kokrajhar had the highest density of House Sparrow in all the three habitats, and among the three habitats, the lowest density was found in suburban area in all the district Headquarter towns. The lowest density of Tree Sparrow was found in Kajalgaon in all the three habitats, and the highest density of Tree Sparrow was found in sub-urban area. House Sparrows were significantly more than the Tree Sparrows in all the district Headquarter towns and in all the habitats. We found highly significant difference of the population of both House Sparrow and Tree Sparrow across the district Headquarter towns and also among three different habitats. Interspecific comparisons confirmed clear habitat segregation between the two species. The study provides baseline data on sparrow populations in the urban areas of BTR, based on which population monitoring could be carried out.

Keywords

Urban ecology House Sparrow Tree Sparrow Habitat preference Urban–suburban gradient

How to Cite

Dipika Chetry1, Eliza Basumatary1, Pranjit Kumar Sarma2, Sujit Deka3, Jatin Sarmah4 and Hilloljyoti Singha1* (2026). Population Distribution of Two Sympatric Sparrow Species: House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) in Urban Areas of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), Assam, India. Journal of Bioresearch, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 46-55. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19436419
Dipika Chetry1, Eliza Basumatary1, Pranjit Kumar Sarma2, Sujit Deka3, Jatin Sarmah4 and Hilloljyoti Singha1*. "Population Distribution of Two Sympatric Sparrow Species: House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) in Urban Areas of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), Assam, India." Journal of Bioresearch, vol. 5, no. 2, 2026, pp. 46-55.
@article{dipika2026,
  author  = {Dipika Chetry1, Eliza Basumatary1, Pranjit Kumar Sarma2, Sujit Deka3, Jatin Sarmah4 and Hilloljyoti Singha1*},
  title   = {{Population Distribution of Two Sympatric Sparrow Species: House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) in Urban Areas of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), Assam, India}},
  journal = {Journal of Bioresearch},
  year    = {2026},
  volume  = {5},
  number  = {2},
  pages   = {46-55},
  doi     = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19436419},
}