Date: April 13, 2018
Source: University of Exeter
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.
"For most people, birds
provide their most common encounter with wild animals," said research
fellow Dr Daniel Cox, of the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the
University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.
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