How house crows are boosting green cover in Rayalaseema

House crows are aiding efforts to enhance green cover across arid Rayalaseema, a study has found. The study at Sri Krishnadevaraya University has documented how crows feed on ripe neem fruits from March to June and disperse seeds through their droppings across villages, fields, tank bunds and semi-urban roads a kilometre or two away from the parent tree. Data shows about a 2% increase in urban greenery in parts of Rayalaseema.

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.