madurai it is not just sparrows that are vanishing from the neighbourhood for lack of food and shelter birds like mynas parakeets spotted owlets redbreasted barbet and hoopoes may soon vanish for the same reasons fewer numbers of withered wood or tree trunks also deprive such birds of shelters as they are axed for firewood and to clear land of unwanted vegetation ambudoss arvind a bird researcher in madurai points out that dead wood dried and rotting act as nesting and breeding places for several species of birds these bird species are known as hollow nesting birds because they make their nests in rotting wood because they cant peck a live tree for nest due to increased human interference and movement no dead tree is spared for firewood resultingly these birds are in danger of losing habitat he said not just birds every rotting wood support hundreds of life forms like insects even a withered tree is home to many birds dead wood should not be removed from the vast campuses of institutions of course no one may like to have a rotting wood on their house plots opined s bharathidasan who works for a wildlife ngo t badri narayanan an ornithologist noted that modification of environment is always a threat to birds nowadays people may not like to safeguard withered wood he said badri also pointed out another phenomenon affecting birds people are not interested to plant native tree species which provide birds with food and shelter man prefers trees that are useful to him but even a live tree may not be helpful for birds he remarked one possible way to help hollow nesting birds is providing artificial nests in gardens such artificial nests can be made of simple pvc pipes in hollow structures birds may nest arvind added