Song Birds Really Can Chase the Blues Away
There are abundant song birds in the metropolitan area, from northern Cardinals to the song sparrow. The NY Bird Alliance says there are over 500 species of birds that can be found in NYC. And birdwatching can soothe the soul, several recent studies have found.
| 31 Aug 2026 | 12:45
The northern cardinal is a rarity in that both the male and female can sign. They are known for a variety of whistles and trills. (
)
The NY Bird Alliance, a local conservation group says that over 500 species of birds can be found right here in NYC. And not surprisingly, it says bird watching is good for your mental health. (
)
Hearing birds sing makes humans feel good. This simple fact is backed with serious science, the latest example being a study run by environmentalist professors at the North Carolina State University College of Natural Resources.
The researchers sent 106 male and female student volunteers into the woods to listen to the birds. It was a two-part assignment because birds vocalize in two distinct ways. Bird calls are short sounds likely to serve a warnings. Bird songs are longer melodies exclusive to songbirds such as Mockingbirds and American Robins and most commonly sung at mating season.
After about 30 minutes, the students moved on to a second session at an assigned location, sitting on a street corner listening to street noise. Then, having completed a total of four such bird-and-traffic “soundtracks,” they delivered reports comparing their psychological reactions to the different sounds. The data, published in the July issue of the New York-based Cambridge University Press journal Cambridge Core, were clear and distinct. Birds singing in a forest lowered the listeners’ stress and negative feelings. Street noises did not.
As a result, community observers such as the Brooklyn-based Bird Collective, which designs and sells bird-friendly merchandise and contributes a portion of the sales directly to conservation efforts, believe that this study offers preliminary support for the idea that listening to birds is one way to promote psychological well-being.
Professionals call that an excellent conclusion because, as the researchers wrote, birdwatching and listening can be done “‘anytime, anywhere, by anybody.” In fact, it already ranks among the most common ways to interact with Nature, so popular that two years ago the U.S. Department of the Interior counted as many as 100 million American fans of avian music. The good news for New Yorkers is that there are birds everywhere and we don’t have to travel tto the mountains or countryside to hear them.
In fact, there are more than over 500 species of birds right here in the five boroughs perching in places as common as our small vest pocket parks and street medians.
During the COVID pandemic, isolation quieted the City, enhancing the ability to hear natural sounds including bird calls and songs. Today, the pre-pandemic level of noise is back, but the NYC Bird Alliance (formerly the NYC Audubon society) says that’s no barrier to pleasure. True, it requires more focus to actually hear what one is hearing. But like music lovers who learn to identify multiple chords, rhythmic patterns, and a variety of instruments in an orchestral performance, dedicated birdwatchers may well learn to distinguish diverse vocalizations.
In the end, more studies are needed to help determine the “dosage” required to effectively reduce stress levels. One estimate is that two peaceful hours a week works. Further research is also expected to examine the exact physical or psychological links between the negative effects of man-made noise such as car horns vs more soothing natural sounds and to pin down possible differences between the effects of birdsong in settings like the North Carolinian study’s forests vs everyday spaces like one’s Manhattan front stoop. Not to mention whether a single species song such as Scottish poet Robert Burns’ “sweet silver song of a lark” is more or less soothing than the blended song of multiple species.