{"id":556452,"date":"2026-05-07T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/?p=556452"},"modified":"2026-05-07T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T14:00:00","slug":"urban-birds-appear-to-be-more-afraid-of-women-than-men-and-researchers-are-uncertain-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/?p=556452","title":{"rendered":"Urban Birds Appear to Be More Afraid of Women Than Men\u2014and Researchers Are Uncertain Why"},"content":{"rendered":"

The research investigated 37 avian species in urban areas across five European nations. On average, the birds allowed men to approach roughly three feet closer than women before taking flight.<\/h2>\n
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Rudy Molinek<\/p>\n

| Reporter<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\"European\n <\/picture>
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The European green woodpecker was among the most cautious species observed
\n Alexis Lours via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 4.0<\/span>
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In the 1964 movie Mary Poppins<\/em>, a\u00a0theme of generosity\u00a0is conveyed through the lullaby \u201cFeed the Birds.\u201d The main character, a nanny, narrates the tale of the \u201cbird woman,\u201d who offers bags of crumbs while urging onlookers to \u201cfeed the little birds, show them you care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sadly, recent studies indicate that the birds may not always value such generosity\u2014especially from certain individuals. In research published in the February edition of the journal\u00a0People and Nature<\/em>, researchers discovered that the birds studied in various European cities were more apprehensive of women compared to men. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The results are not merely a curiosity. The researchers assert that acknowledging the differences among human observers could influence the methodology of behavioral studies involving wildlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a woman in the field, I was taken aback by the different reactions of birds to us,\u201d remarks study co-author\u00a0Yanina Benedetti, an ecologist at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, in a\u00a0statement. \u201cThis research illustrates how urban animals perceive humans, which carries implications for urban ecology and equality in research. Numerous behavioral studies presume that a human observer is neutral, but this was not observed with urban birds in our research.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Did you know? Covid-19 influenced some urban birds\u2019 beak sizes<\/p>\n

Dark-eyed juncos residing in Los Angeles developed longer beaks during the lockdowns, yet these features have become shorter in subsequent years. Researchers speculate this may have been caused by the birds\u2019 loss of food scraps discarded by humans during the peak of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Benedetti and her team observed the avian species across seven cities in five European nations: the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, and Spain. Throughout each experiment, observers of varying genders\u2014but comparable heights and attire\u2014walked directly towards birds and documented their distance when the animals took flight. This was referred to as the \u201cflight initiation distance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The eight observers, four men and four women\u2014all skilled ornithologists\u2014compiled a final dataset involving 37 bird species. From April to July 2023, they collected data from nearly 2,600 interactions in parks and other urban green spaces.<\/p>\n

On average, the birds permitted men to approach about three feet closer than women, as discovered by the team. This pattern was uniform across all countries and across various bird species with diverse behaviors.<\/p>\n

Common pigeons, for instance, were more accommodating towards all humans and took flight when researchers were an average of 11.5 feet away. In contrast, European green woodpeckers appeared more paranoid and flew away when observers were approximately 53 feet distant. Both species fled sooner when approached by women.<\/p>\n

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\"Pigeon\"

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Among the studied species, common pigeons allowed people to get the closest.<\/p>\n

Alexis Lours via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 4.0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the consistent outcomes across species and locations, the researchers remain uncertain about why urban birds seem to be more fearful of women. They hypothesize that varying reactions could stem from differences in scents, gaits, or body shapes, but emphasize the need for further observations controlling these variables to validate these theories.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must enhance the number of human observers, therefore improving the integrity of our results,\u201d states study co-author\u00a0Federico Morelli, an ecologist at the University of Turin in Italy, to the\u00a0London Times<\/em>\u2019 Adam Vaughan.<\/p>\n

Others express caution regarding the findings, given their preliminary nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil we have a solid reason to hypothesize such discrepancies, I remain somewhat skeptical,\u201d remarks\u00a0John Marzluff, an ecologist at the University of Washington who did not participate in the recent study, to\u00a0Live Science<\/em>\u2019s\u00a0Kenna Hughes-Castleberry. \u201cHowever, I am not at all doubtful that birds pay close attention to us and react to humans in significant ways. We simply require more research to clarify why this effect was so prevalent.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the research team has numerous enigmas to solve, they are convinced they have identified a genuine phenomenon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI firmly believe our findings indicate that urban birds respond differently based on the sex of the approaching individual, though I cannot currently provide an explanation,\u201d asserts study co-author\u00a0Daniel Blumstein, a biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the statement. \u201cWe utilized cutting-edge comparative analysis techniques that confirmed our findings were consistent across cities and species, yet we lack a definitive explanation at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n