Dialogue: Sparrows knocked off their perch by insidious disease

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

Milo, the artful marmalade cat next door, is a little down in his whiskered jowls this spring.

This time last year, Milo was entertained every afternoon at four by a troop of 100-odd brazen sparrows on his front lawn.

Today, when he yowls for his adopted mother to begin her daily ritual - throwing stale bread from the upstairs deck - a paltry 20 birds turn up.

Let me assure you that Milo is not single-handedly wiping out the sparrow population of our village. In fact, after striking a deal with his mum, the finicky cat now eats cheese and biscuits for his afternoon tea, while keeping one eye on the dining birds.

It's just as well. Sparrow is off the menu this season.

Our cheeky little feathered friends have been hit hard by a lethal disease that kills humans, too.

Salmonella typhimurium is leaving flocks of sparrows' claws up in the country's backyards, where they once hopped about as commonplace as dandelions. The bitter winter has not helped the diminutive sparrows' survival, either.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is endeavouring to find out why this strain of salmonella, known as 160, has attacked our common garden birds with such venom, and where it came from.

The fear is that it could ultimately spread through animals and humans with a vengeance. Last year, the disease killed one elderly Christchurch man and put 80 people in hospital.

Dr Roger Poland, the ministry's programme coordinator, says the problem is far from plague proportions.

"It's not like people are getting headaches from being hit by falling sparrows," he says. "But the disease is still out there. As a safety measure, we want people to phone us if they find 20 or more dead sparrows or blackbirds."

Of course, it's generally town folk who call up, concerned by the absence of the birds. Farmers are quite happy to be rid of the little pests.

But there is general concern that salmonella 160 could also strike New Zealand's native birds. MAF scientists suspect they are susceptible, but so far there is little evidence.

Milo should really forgo his daily entertainment this summer if he wants the sparrows to make a healthy comeback. Feeding them only helps spread the killer disease as the birds jostle wing to wing for stale breadcrumbs.

Another bird could be missing from your skies this summer - but the Department of Conservation will be happy to see the back of its fancy tail feathers.

Rainbow lorikeets have been a splash of colour in Auckland after the Australian imports flew the coop a few years back. While some escaped, most were supposedly set free.

Last week, the parrots came off New Zealand's protected species list, but they had already been declared pests. DoC believes the blue-headed birds are a threat to locals such as the tui, the bellbird and the stichbird, all vying for the same food.

Today, the rainbow lorikeets are all supposed to be back behind cage bars after a two-year bird-hunt.

It's hard to feel hostile towards a pretty perky parrot - it's not like a snake or venomous spider invading our backyard. And yet the public have come forward in droves to report on the intruders - apparently 84 birds have been recaptured in the swoop.

Not all of them are still flying. Four were shot by a farmer, two were the prey of cats.

The recent captures have been more tame escapees - pet lorikeets that fled their aviaries or were spooked while stretching their wings. The last one rounded up could even speak a little English.

There is still the odd flash of bright colour and a raucous shriek heard from Auckland treetops. But the culprits, it appears, are a bunch of chattering red-heads - otherwise known as the less-offensive rosella.

Simon Mowbray, DoC's project manager for biodiversity, classes the operation, to recapture the lorries and keep them off our island bird sanctuaries, a success.

"The problem is done and gone - until someone releases them again," he said. "I guess some people think our native birds are boring. But I don't."

But the man charged with releasing the rainbow lorikeets in the first place is still adamant that DoC has got it all wrong.

Rex Gilfillan argues there is no evidence that the lorikeets have threatened the local flora and fauna. He is determined not to give up his fight to see them flying free, and is regularly writing letters to the Minister of Conservation, Sandra Lee.

But there is more chance of the sparrow being wiped from the face of New Zealand than the tide turning on the fate of the lorikeet.