Birds and Humans

Birds are an important food source for humans. The most commonly eaten species is the domestic chicken and its eggs, although geese, pheasants, turkeys and ducks are also widely eaten. Other birds that have been utilized for food include emus, ostriches, pigeons, grouse, quails, doves, woodcocks, songbirds and others, including small passerines such as finches..

At one time swans and flamingos were delicacies of the rich and powerful, although these are generally protected now.

Many species have become extinct through over-hunting, such as the Passenger Pigeon, and many others have become endangered or extinct through habitat destruction, deforestation and intensive agriculture being common causes for declines.

Numerous species have come to depend on human activies for food and are widespread to the point of being pests. For example the common pigeon or Rock Dove (Columba livia) thrives in urban areas around the world. In North America, House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), and House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) are similarly widespread.

Other birds have been used by humans: for example Homing pigeons to carry messages (many are still kept for sport), falcons for hunting, cormorants for fishing. Chickens and pigeons are popular subjects in experimental research in biology and comparative psychology. As birds are extra-sensitive to toxins, the Canary was often used in coal mines to indicate the presence of poisonous gases, so that the miners could escape.

Colorful, particularly tropical, birds (e.g., parrots, and mynahs) are often kept as pets although this has led to smuggling of some endangered species; CITES does considerable work to deter this.

Bird diseases that can be contracted by humans include: psittacosis, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, Newcastle's disease, mycobacteriosis (avian tuberculosis), influenza, giardiasis, and cryptosporiadiosis.

Few birds use chemical defences against predators. Tubenoses can eject an unpleasant slime against an aggressor, and some species of pitohui, found in New Guinea secrete a powerful neurotoxin in their feathers.