BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Bird Sci.
Sec. Science of Birding
This article is part of the Research TopicImpacts of Human-Bird Interactions on Human Well-Being and BehaviorView all articles
Bird species traits in recreational areas – building a human restoration value of bird species and connecting it to the mental well-being of recreationists in Germany
Provisionally accepted
- University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Preferences for animal species and their popularity vary significantly between species, even within a taxonomic group such as birds. Understanding which characteristics influence human preferences for certain bird species can help to promote targeted conservation measures and define so-called 'flagship species' for conservation programs. However, the extent to which such species-specific characteristics also affect human psychological well-being remains largely unclear. The positive impact of interacting with birds on the human psyche is currently being researched. However, a grey goose could potentially have a different impact on the human experience of nature and, thus, also on psychological well-being in local recreation areas than, for example, a blue tit or a nightingale. Which species-specific characteristics play a role in this is still largely unclear. We therefore compiled data on species-specific characteristics for 118 bird species that were mapped in 40 different areas in southwest Germany. One factor was summarized from four species traits in a principal component analysis, building the human restoration value. An index was calculated for each location (HRV = human restoration value of bird species). In a second step, these indices were then correlated with the mental well-being and place attachment of 1,184 people in the 40 project areas. The results show a positive correlation between the HRV and satisfaction. Compiling species-specific characteristics relevant to human well-being into one factor, such as the HRV presented here, might enable future projects to investigate the recreational value of nature areas based on bird abundance.
Keywords: bird species traits, human restoration value, Human-bird interaction, Mental well-being, Recreational area
Received: 05 Nov 2025; Accepted: 03 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Vanhöfen, Kalb and Randler. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Janina Vanhöfen
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