People in crowded urban areas – especially poor areas – see fewer songbirds such as tits and finches, and more potential “nuisance” birds, such as pigeons, magpies and gulls, new research shows.
People in crowded urban areas – especially poor areas – see fewer songbirds such as tits and finches, and more potential “nuisance” birds, such as pigeons, magpies and gulls, new research shows.
The University of Exeter and the British Trust for Ornithology examined ratios of birds-to-people and found areas of high-density housing have fewer birds overall – and the birds people do see are just as likely to cause a nuisance as to make them happy.
Meanwhile, people in green and leafy suburbs see up to three and a half times more songbirds and woodpeckers – which are associated with a positive impact on human wellbeing – than birds whose behaviours can cause a nuisance.
Previous research has suggested that people living in neighbourhoods with more birds, shrubs and trees are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and stress.
Read more at University of Exeter
Photo credit: HE1958 via Pixabay
