🐦 Urban birds are more afraid of women than men, why?

Urban birds show a surprising behavior towards humans: they fly away more quickly when the approaching person is a woman rather than a man. This observation, repeated in several European countries, is statistically robust and concerns common species such as great tits, house sparrows, and blackbirds. Yet the origin of this difference remains unexplained.

To conduct this study, scientists from five countries, including France and Germany, set up a simple protocol. Male and female participants, carefully matched in size and clothing, walked directly towards birds in urban parks. The flight distance was measured at the moment the bird took off.


On average, men could get about one meter (3.3 feet) closer than women, and this pattern was observed across the 37 species studied, from magpies to pigeons.

Researchers propose several hypotheses to explain this phenomenon. Birds might rely on olfactory cues, body shape, or even gait. Professor Daniel Blumstein imagines an experiment inspired by the 'Ministry of Silly Walks' from Monty Python to test the effect of walking style. But these leads remain speculative, and the precise reason has not been established.

To go further, researchers plan to test different factors separately, such as movements or odors. The 2,701 observations collected provide a solid foundation, but additional studies are needed to confirm these results and understand the underlying mechanisms.

The study, published in the journal People and Nature, raises questions about animal perception in urban environments. Urban birds can distinguish details that humans do not perceive.

The researchers hope their work will encourage other teams to replicate the experiment in other settings, for example with rural birds. Such a comparison would allow them to determine whether this discrimination ability is specific to urban birds or more widespread.

Flight distance: an indicator of tolerance

Flight distance is a key concept in behavioral ecology. It measures the minimum distance at which an animal allows a potential predator to approach before fleeing. The greater this distance, the more fearful the animal. This indicator helps assess species' tolerance towards humans, particularly in urban environments where contact is frequent.

Researchers often use flight distance to study animal adaptation to human presence. By comparing distances across different situations, they can infer the impact of urbanization, hunting, or tourism.