News from the RSPB site

One of West Sussex's best-known birds may be declining because its chicks have too little to eat.



Too few insects in summer may mean young house sparrows in West Sussex's towns and cities are starving in their nests, especially when parent birds are trying to raise important second and third broods.

Increased development, the popularity of ornamental plants like Leylandii, the removal of trees and the conversion of front gardens for parking may explain the loss of insects in urban areas, new research suggests.

The study, by scientists from the RSPB, De Montfort University and Natural England, is the first to investigate the 20-year decline of house sparrows in suburbia.

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