Urban birds are more afraid of women than men, new research suggests

Birds can tell the difference between men and women and appear to be more afraid of the latter, according to new research. The study looked at 37 bird species, including pigeons, magpies, house sparrows and blackbirds living in urban areas across Europe and found men could get about a meter closer to birds than women could before the birds flew away. The result was the same regardless of what people were wearing, how tall they were or how they tried to approach the birds. “I fully believe our results, that urban birds react differently based on the sex of the person approaching them, but I can’t explain them right now,” says Daniel Blumstein, a co-author of the study and a professor at UCLA.