Urban birds show gender-based fear responses in a new but surprising research study.
According to researchers, the birds can identify a person’s gender and men gain more influence by getting closer to them before the birds take flight.
The findings published in the British Ecological Society magazine also showed pattern consistency across about 37 bird species. Here’s the catch: even the scientists are puzzled by the unusual behavior of birds and can’t figure out what makes women scarier than men and what traits can identify birds based on gender.
Researchers conducted a study in five European countries, including the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland and Spain, analyzing a total of 2,701 observations to determine how human gender influences bird behavior.
There is one possibility that birds can distinguish between sexes based on humans’ pheromones, gait and body shape, but this is conclusive, so more research is needed to unravel this mystery.
Professor Daniel Blumstein, co-author of the study from the University of California, said: “I fully believe in our results, that urban birds respond differently based on the sex of the person approaching them, but I cannot explain them at the moment.”
Study co-author Federico Morelli, from the University of Turin, said: “This is perhaps the most interesting part of our study. We have identified a phenomenon, but we really don’t know why. What our results do highlight, however, is the birds’ sophisticated ability to evaluate their environment.”
Dr. Yanina Benedetti, the study’s co-author, said this study highlights the under-examined relationship between urban birds and people, which could further impact equity in science and urban ecology.
