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Urban birds fear women more than men, and scientists don't know why

Phys · · 530 words · By British Ecological Society
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What to know about Urban birds fear women more than men, and scientists don't know why

A study conducted across five European countries found that urban birds, including species like great tits and blackbirds, tend to flee sooner when approached by women compared to men. The research, published in People and Nature, suggests that birds can recognize the sex of humans, though the researchers noted that the underlying reasons for this difference remain unknown. The authors recommend further studies to identify specific cues, such as pheromones or body shape, that the birds might be detecting.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 8
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Urban birds fear women more than men, and scientists don't know why Gaby Clark scientific editor Andrew Zinin lead editor An international team of researchers have made the surprising discovery that urban birds—such as great tits, house sparrows and…

Why it matters

Conducted across five European countries, the study involved male and female participants (matched for height and clothing) walking in a straight line towards birds in urban parks and green spaces.

Common ground

The researchers found that compared to women, men were able to get an average of one meter closer to birds before they fled (termed flight initiation distance).

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

A study conducted across five European countries found that urban birds, including species like great tits and blackbirds, tend to flee sooner when approached by women compared to men. The research, published in People and Nature, suggests that birds can recognize the sex of humans, though the researchers noted that the underlying reasons for this difference remain unknown. The authors recommend further studies to identify specific cues, such as pheromones or body shape, that the birds might be detecting.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-04-urban-birds-women-men-scientists.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 90%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 5
check_circle Corroborated 3
info
Claim 1: “The results, published in the journal, People and Nature, were consistent across all five countries: Czechia, France, Germany, Poland and Spain.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the web search results confirm the study was conducted across five European countries, the provided evidence snippets do not list or confirm that the specific countries were Czechia, France, Germany, Poland, and Spain.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 13, 2024 · I have seen this before and the findings page displays correctly in a day or so. I believe the Tenable docs indicate that new scan results can take up to 24 hours to reflect on the find…
https://www.reddit.com/r/nessus/comments/1cr22k8/tenableio_f…
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https://www.reddit.com/r/Feldup/comments/1dkb05v/recherche_m…
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web search NEUTRAL — Running into an issue where I’ve seen about 2k vulnerabilities that have not been seen in the past 90 days remain on the report for an asset that is scanned weekly. At what point would you treat that …
https://www.reddit.com/r/cybersecurity/comments/1df7uxi/at_w…
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Claim 2: “The researchers found that compared to women, men were able to get an average of one meter closer to birds before they fled (termed flight initiation distance).”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results corroborate the finding that men were able to get an average of one meter closer to birds before they fled (Flight Initiation Distance) compared to women.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The researchers found that compared to women, men were able to get an average of one meter closer to birds before they fled (termed flight initiation distance).
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-urban-birds-women-men-scientis…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In the study, men could get about a meter closer to birds than women could before they flew away, according to the results.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/city-birds-appear…
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web search NEUTRAL — Association between flight initiation distance (FID, m) and (a) mean nearest available refuge distance (m) and (b) distance fled to the used refuge (m), for birds sampled in this study.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972…
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Claim 3: “This finding was also consistent across the 37 bird species studied, from species that typically flee early, like magpies, to species that flee late, like pigeons.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results confirm that the finding was consistent across 37 bird species studied, specifically mentioning species like magpies and pigeons. One source also mentions the 37 species count.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 37 may refer to: 37 (number), the natural number following 36 and preceding 38 37 BC AD 37 1937 2037
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/37
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 37 (thirty-seven) is the natural number following 36 and preceding 38.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/37_(number)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — NGC 2169 is an open cluster in the Orion constellation. It was possibly discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and discovered by William Herschel on October 15, 1784. NGC 2169 is at a dis…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2169
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 4: “The study contained 2701 observations.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Only one web search result mentions the study contained 2701 observations. No other independent sources corroborate this specific number.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 28th century BC was a century that lasted from the year 2800 BC to 2701 BC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28th_century_BC
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 270x is a generic name for a family of IBM non-programmable communications controllers used with System/360 and System/370 computers. The family consisted of the following devices: IBM 2701 Data Adap…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_270x
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2701 to 2800 adopted between 19 October 2023 and 13 November 2025.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_Securit…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 5: “The results, published in the journal, People and Nature, were published by Federico Morelli et al.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Only one web search result mentions the publication in the journal People and Nature and names Dr. Federico Morelli. No other independent sources confirm this specific combination of journal, name, and study details.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alive is a 1993 American survival drama film directed by Frank Marshall, and based on Piers Paul Read's 1974 book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors. It is the second feature film about the Urugu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alive_(1993_film)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The genetic history of Sardinia consists of the study of the gene pool of the Sardinian people with two main objectives. The first is purely cultural and is to reconstruct the natural history of the p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_history_of_Sardinia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Leonardo de Mango (19 February 1843 – 22 January 1930) was an Italian-born Ottoman Empire and later Turkish painter, active for most of his career in Istanbul. He was known for landscape paintings dep…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_de_Mango
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 6: “Conducted across five European countries, the study involved male and female participants (matched for height and clothing) walking in a straight line towards birds in urban parks and green spaces.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the web search results confirm the study was conducted in five European countries and involved male and female participants, the provided evidence snippets are generic Study.com links and do not confirm the specific details regarding matching participants for height and clothing, or the exact setting of urban parks and green spaces.
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web search NEUTRAL — See all of the online college courses and video lessons that Study.com has to offer including the lowest-cost path to college credit.
https://study.com/academy/course/index.html
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web search NEUTRAL — Study.com is an online platform offering affordable courses and study materials for K-12, college, and professional development. It enables flexible, self-paced learning.
https://study.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — Need a Study.com Account? Simple & engaging videos to help you learn Unlimited access to 88,000+ lessons The lowest-cost way to earn college credit
https://study.com/academy/login.html
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Claim 7: “An international team of researchers have made the surprising discovery that urban birds—such as great tits, house sparrows and blackbirds—flee sooner when approached by women compared to men.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results report the finding that urban birds flee sooner when approached by women compared to men. The evidence cites an international team of researchers and mentions specific birds like great tits, house sparrows, and blackbirds.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — An international team of researchers have made the surprising discovery that urban birds—such as great tits, house sparrows and blackbirds—flee sooner when approached by women compared to men.
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-urban-birds-women-men-scientis…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 3. In five European countries, we tested whether urban birds perceived the risk posed by approaching female versus male observers differently, using FID as a response variable.to escape from a distanc…
https://blumsteinlab.eeb.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The study shows that urban birds perceive men and women differently, fleeing from women at an average of one meter greater distance, the co-authors from the Poznań University of Life Sciences reported…
https://scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news,111331,european-city…
info
Claim 8: “The study was published in the journal People and Nature in 2025.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Only one web search result mentions the study was published in the journal People and Nature, but the evidence does not specify the year 2025. Therefore, the date cannot be corroborated.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nature is a British weekly international scientific journal publishing peer-reviewed research across the natural sciences, including biology, physics, chemistry, the earth sciences, and related interd…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_(journal)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — People-Animals-Nature (Portuguese: Pessoas-Animais-Natureza, PAN) is an environmentalist, animal rights, and animal welfare-focused political party in Portugal, which was founded in 2009. In the 2011 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Animals_Nature
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.