In a small village in Kerala’s Kannur district, what began as the sighting of a distressed bird quickly turned into an extraordinary rescue mission—mobilising not just residents, but top district officials as well.
For three days, a tiny house sparrow was seen fluttering desperately against the glass panels of the sealed textile shop in Ullikkal panchayat. Nearby shopkeepers and residents first spotted the trapped bird on April 8, repeatedly crashing into the glass in a bid to escape. The house sparrow is a small bird, typically around 16 cm in length and weighing between 24 and 39.5 grams, and is commonly found across much of the world.
The shop in Ullikkal, where the bird was trapped, had been sealed due to a legal dispute between business partners, and a court order had locked it down so thoroughly that even the District Collector and Fire department officials were powerless to intervene.
The villagers initially tried feeding the sparrow through a narrow pipe, and shielding it from the intense heat inside the glass-fronted shop. Though the village officer eventually approached Collector Arun K Vijayan seeking permission to open the shop, the official could do little to help due to the court order.
As the bird grew weaker, they even took their efforts to court, eventually prompting Principal District Judge KT Nisar Ahammed himself to arrive on the scene, along with the District Collector, and authorise the shop to be opened for the rescue. The sparrow was finally freed on April 10, ending a three-day vigil by villagers who had refused to give up.