Angry Birds: Rural Robins Get βRoad Rageβ When Exposed To Traffic Noise
Human activities, such as traffic noises and other forms of noise pollution, can have significant impacts on the long-term social behaviors of wildlife
Β© by GrrlScientist for Forbes
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A recently published study has found that human-made traffic noises are linked to increased physical aggression in rural European robins, Erithacus rubecula. Surprisingly, their urban-dwelling relatives show no such response to traffic noises. Why?
Robins are fiercely territorial
The European robin, more commonly known as the robin or robin redbreast, is formally classified into the Old World flycatcher family. This small insectivorous passerine is common and widespread throughout Europe, western Asia and some parts of northern Africa, where it lives in woodlands and parks. It is seasonally migratory in northern Europe, but in the southern parts of its range, this bird tends to stay put. Males and females look identical, whereas juveniles lack the iconic red breast but instead, have golden spots sprinkled uniformly over their honey-brown plumage.
The endearing appearance and small size of robins conceals an unexpected traitβ¦
