Anyone who has tried to sneak up on a pigeon in a park knows how twitchy city birds can be. Some barely notice people walking by, while others bolt at the first footstep. Now, a new study adds a strange twist to that behavior.
Researchers who studied 37 bird species across five European countries found that these animals let men get noticeably closer before flying off, while women were treated as more of a threat. The pattern held in city after city, species after species.
What scientists have found instead opens up new questions about how birds actually perceive the humans living alongside them. Click to know the science behind this weird bird behavior.