Interest in Birds and its Relationship with Attitudes and Myths: A Cross-cultural Study in Countries with Different Levels of Economic Development

Abstract

Birds are one of the most important species that can help protect biodiversity. Although birds are important beings for biodiversity and human existence, there is a relatively less quantity of research that has investigated the interest in and attitudes toward birds. This study aims to investigate the knowledge level of and attitudes toward birds among students in countries at different levels of economic development. To collect the data, a Bird Knowledge Questionnaire and a Bird Attitude Questionnaire were developed and used by the researchers in this study. These questionnaires were administered to a total of 852 students from different countries, including Colombia, Germany, Slovakia, and Turkey. The results obtained in this study showed that Colombian students had the highest interest in birds as compared to students in Slovakia, Turkey, and Germany. Girls had consistently higher interest in birds than boys in all countries, but there were no gender differences in the cognitive domain. Our research suggests that factual knowledge about birds is not a necessary prerequisite for interest in birds, but animal-related activities show strong associations with an interest in birds.

Callout analysis in relation to wild birds in a tropical city: implications for urban species management

“…Caller profile appeared to be significant, with men more likely to report a bird than women. In contrast, a previous study found that women appeared to have a greater interest in birds then men, though there was no significant difference in knowledge about local species (Hummel et al 2015). Caller age was also significant, with callers ages more likely to fall within the "21-40" and "41-60" categories, in addition to callers being likely to have higher salaries.…”

Determinants of Bird Species Literacy—Activity/Interest and Specialization Are More Important Than Socio-Demographic Variables

“…Additionally, attitudes toward nature and animals were significantly related to species knowledge [1]. Participation in animal-related activities showed a strong association with interest in animal species [9]. Palmberg et al [6] and Cox and Gaston [26] similarly observed a positive correlation in their respective studies.…”

“…In the kindergarten age, Randler and Wieland [19] found no difference between boys and girls in species knowledge. In a study by Hummel et al [9] based on 852 schoolchildren (average age 11.48 years) from different countries (Colombia, Germany, Slovakia, and Turkey) female participants showed a greater interest in ornithology, but there was no difference in the cognitive domain. Other studies in adolescents found that boys in the UK had significantly greater wildlife knowledge than girls [14].…”

“…Enthusiasm for biodiversity can be increased with the help of the concept of species knowledge [1]. Concerning specific taxa, birds are among the most charismatic taxonomic group [9]. Therefore, basic knowledge of common bird species and how to identify different bird species is recognized as an essential part of understanding the framework of ecosystems [10,11].…”

What Environmental and Personal Factors Determine the Implementation Intensity of Nature-Based Education in Elementary and Lower-Secondary Schools?

“…This result appears to be a reflection of the differences in preferences and attitudes toward wildlife (e.g., insects) between the genders; men are more likely to favor wildlife than women [39,61,63]. However, since the magnitude of gender differences in preferences/attitudes toward wildlife might depend on cultural and the socio-economic context [64], additional studies are needed to understand more fully the role of gender in determining the intensity of nature-based education.…”