Scientists have found: urban birds are more afraid of women than men

Urban birds are more afraid of women than men — and scientists cannot yet explain why. This unexpected conclusion was reached by an international team of biologists who published the results of a large-scale study in the journal People and Nature (PN).

The researchers studied the so-called flight initiation distance — the distance at which a bird decides it is time to fly away from an approaching human. The large-scale experiment covered five European countries: the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, and Spain. Men and women of the same height, dressed in similar clothing, walked slowly in a straight line toward birds in urban parks and green spaces.

The results were remarkably consistent: in all cases, birds began to fly away from women sooner. On average, the birds allowed men to get about one meter closer before taking off. The pattern was observed across all 37 studied species without exception — and in total, the scientists conducted 2,701 measurements.

What exactly causes birds to maintain a greater distance from women remains a mystery for now. Among possible explanations, the researchers mention differences in scent, gait characteristics, or other behavioral signals that birds are capable of detecting. However, all of these hypotheses have yet to be tested.

The authors emphasize that the findings are important for understanding how wildlife interacts with humans in urban environments. Going forward, the scientists intend to examine in detail the factors influencing birds' reactions in order to finally explain the discovered phenomenon.