DNK International By Charles Onyango,Nairobi.
Conservationists are raising alarm following the sighting of the Indian House Crow an invasive bird species, whose impact on the animal habitat is considered to be highly devastating.
Bird conservation specialist, Brian Otiego, a scientist Coordinating the Vultures Conservation Program at Nature Kenya, said the Indian House Crow, has been sighted in Nairobi’s Burma market several months after initially perching in Mombasa on board a container ship.
The Indian Crow is believed to have perched onto a container truck on its on-ward journey from the port of Mombasa, where it ended its initial flight from India, regularly perching on container ship.
“These birds are highly adaptable to the human-modified landscape. By nature of their feeding behaviour – scavenging largely at waste disposal sites, they are potential vectors of pathogens that could spill over to cause public health risks,” Otiego said.
Some five birds have been sighted within the Nairobi National Park ecosystem.
Due to the bird’s ability outcompete native birds for food and nesting resources, and even prey on eggs and chicks of other birds, bird conservation experts fear the bird’s behaviour poses a significant threat to ecological balance.
The Indian House Crow is one of Worlds widespread invasive avian species – native to India. Being an invasive species, it’s aggressively competitive against native species in its newly colonised habitat.
“The arrival of IHC in Nairobi is an alarm that must be treated with urgency not only by ecologists but also by the County government’s public health,” Otiego warned.
[DNK-International@July 23,2026]
