A Bird in the Hand Is Worth Two in the Bush: Bird Visibility as a Predictor of the Perception of Birds by Humans

Simple Summary Human aspects of birds are becoming increasingly popular because birds fulfil an important function for human well-being. Recent studies used ecological indicators, like species richness or diversity, but specific species traits are usually not studied. Here, we studied two new variables, visibility duration and obstruction, which are relevant to human-bird encounters. Visibility measures, if and for how long a bird is visible. Obstruction measures to what extent the bird is concealed by vegetation. We collected behavioral data using focal animal sampling. This was combined with an assessment where experts scored the visibility of the different species on a scale from 1 to 5. We present data for 68 bird species, how visible and obstructed they are, and we assume that this may have an influence on the perception of the species by humans. The most important factor of visibility duration was species identity. Concerning obstruction, 34% of the variance was explained by species identity. A cluster analysis on the species level led to a three-cluster solution. The mean expert assessment significantly correlated positively with visibility duration (r = 0.803) and negatively with obstruction (r = -0.422). The behavioral trait of visibility may be an important aspect in the analysis of human-bird encounters but also for ecological bird studies.Abstract Human dimensions of birds are becoming increasingly popular. One aspect is charismatic species and their impact on nature conservation, and the other is the positive impact of birds on human well-being. Studies exploring these relationships are mostly based on species richness, but specific species traits are usually not studied. Here, we propose two new variables, visibility duration, and obstruction, being relevant to human-bird encounters. Visibility measures if and for how long a bird is visible. Obstruction measures to what extent the bird is concealed by vegetation. We collected behavioral data using focal animal sampling (3 min with blocks of 15 s, one-zero sampling). Additionally, species identity, sex, flocking (yes/no) and observation distance were collected. This was combined with an assessment where three experts scored the visibility of the different species on a scale from 1 to 5. The most significant predictor of visibility duration was species identity with an explained variance of 44%. Concerning obstruction, 34% of the variance was explained by species identity. Sex and flocking were not significant. A cluster analysis on the species level led to a three-cluster solution. The mean expert assessment correlated positively with visibility duration (r = 0.803) and negatively with obstruction (r = -0.422). The behavioral trait of visibility may be an important aspect in the analysis of human-bird encounters but also ecological bird studies.