Tweet tweet

4 wild ways birds have evolved to live alongside humans

by Nina Pullano

Luis Emilio Villegas Amador / EyeEm/EyeEm/Getty Images

Seagulls flock the shores. Pigeons dominate cities.

When birds and people hang out in the same space, the birds can get wilder than ever.

Damien Moore/YouTube

picture alliance/picture alliance/Getty Images

City-dwelling humans need street smarts.

So it's understandable that birds have adapted to urban life in these 5 ways >>

1. Bird song changes
TorriPhoto/Moment/Getty Images

Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Moment/Getty Images

Birds' songs have adapted to city environments. Noisy humans cause an upward shift in song frequency.

See a mockingbird imitate a car alarm >>

2. Bringing humans gifts
BBC/YouTube

Dinesh Kumar / EyeEm/EyeEm/Getty Images

Crows will exchange objects with humans they know.

They have reportedly given gifts to families who feed them.

3. Solving puzzles
Shutterstock

Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Problem solving, making tools, and planning ahead all help birds navigate cityscapes.

Gulls and crows use their big brains to get by in the concrete jungle.

Crows can make compound tools.

A.M.P von Bayern et. al.
4. Locating gas leaks
Stan Tekiela Author / Naturalist / Wildlife Photographer/Moment/Getty Images

Natalya Pluzhnikov / 500px/500px/Getty Images

Turkey vultures have a special power useful to humans: They can find gas leaks.

The vultures are attracted to the rotten scent people use to detect odorless gas.

Geoff Manaugh

boonchai wedmakawand/Moment/Getty Images

Read more about how crows make complex tools.

Thanks for reading,
head home for more!