House crows aid efforts to enhance green cover across arid Rayalaseema, finds study

At 6 a.m., along the dusty railway station road in Vasudevapuram locality of Penukonda town in Sri Sathya Sai district, 72-year-old Papamma sweeps her courtyard and scatters leftover rice. In no time, a flock of crows descends. For Papamma, it is a daily ritual. For ecologists, however, it is the start of a quiet greening process in Rayalaseema, one of Andhra Pradesh’s driest zones.

Rayalaseema, with 500-600 mm of rainfall, unforgiving summers, and recurring droughts in Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, Kadapa, Kurnool, Annamayya and Chittoor districts, continues its struggle to retain green cover. Afforestation drives in the region have a survival rate of less than 40% due to water stress, grazing and summer fires.

However, researchers claim that an unlikely ally — the house crow ( Corvus splendens ) — is significantly helping to reclaim the green cover across the dry landscape.