City flights: birds flocked to urban areas as Covid kept people home, study finds

Birds, and perhaps other animals too, benefitted from a respite in human activity in North America, research suggests

The shutdown of traveling and socializing during the Covid-19 pandemic last year brought severe dislocation to many people, but if you were a bird during this time it was highly appealing, new research has found.

The distribution of 80% of studied bird species in North America changed during pandemic lockdowns last year, the study found, with most of these species increasing in abundance in and around urban areas that fell unusually quiet due to a sudden drop in traffic.