Chirps in the Cities
Let's explore some European capitals and discuss the feathered friends that make cities their home!
EuroCity Escapades
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary and the largest city, accounting for 33% of the total population of the country with 3.3 million residents. The Danube River flows through the middle, separating the city into Buda on the west and Pest on the east1.
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Public transportation is extremely well developed in the city with a series of trams, trolleys, buses, and subways serving nearly 4 million people weekly. Budapest is focused on sustainable transportation, as 65% of passenger traffic is through public transports and 35% is by car. The goal is to reduce car usage to 20% by 20302. The deliberate movement away from transportation based emissions is a focus for Budapest, as well as the European Union. The transportation sector produces 25% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union. In addition, air pollution, noise pollution, and habitat fragmentation are equally important to reduce. The EU has been successful in reducing emissions in every single other economic sector, except transportation, which has only been increasing since 1990. In context of the EU’s ambitious climate neutrality goal by 2050, the transportation sector is a major arena of focus for sustainability, innovation, and research3.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital of Germany and largest city in the European Union, with an urban population of 4.5 million people. Berlin has played a major role in European politics, history, and culture since 1237. Its location along the Spree River is advantageous for trade routes and mobility, earning it the moniker “The Heart of Europe”4
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Berlin is a major hub of multiculturalism, with over 1.3 million people with foreign residencies or parent(s) that immigrated to Germany after 1955. In 2017, 48% of under-15 residents in Berlin had a migration background. Here’s a snapshot of residents by citizenship in Berlin during 20235:
Germany- 2.9 million
Turkey- 107,000
Poland- 54,000
Syria- 48,000
Russia- 38,000
Afghanistan- 22,000
United States- 21,000
As seen above, Berlin, and Germany in general, has a massive Turkish population, the largest outside of Turkey. In addition, Berlin has become a hub for refugees and asylum seekers. The tables below provide more details related to this topic.
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is also a capital city and the largest city in Slovenia. It is much smaller compared to Berlin and Budapest, with a population of about 300,0006. The symbol of the city is the dragon, and dragons are found throughout the city on bridges, towers, coats of arms, and other architectural elements. Dragons represent courage, power, and good fortune. The Ljubljana Dragon connection originated from two different tales. The first one begins with Jason, a Greek hero, who traveled through the area on his epic quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. As he was returning home, he became stranded in the Ljubljana marsh, home of the dragon protector. Jason defeated the dragon, and the dragon retreated to the hill and established the future site of the Ljubljana Castle. The second tale is religious in origin, with Saint George defeating the dragon, which represented paganism, to promote the advent of Christianity in the region. Now, the dragon is a symbol of pride and patriotism for the Slovenian people7.
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Ljubljana is a very green city, with many urban green spaces containing street trees, botanical gardens, and fountains. One of the gems of the city, the Ljubljana Botanical Garden, covers nearly 6 acres and contains over 4,500 species. One-third of these species are endemic to Slovenia, with the rest originating from all over the world8. This garden is part of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International, a network of over 270 botanical gardens throughout the world9. In celebration of the focus on green spaces and environmentalism, Ljubljana won the European Green Capital Award in 201610.
Urban Feathered Friends
I have been looking forward to writing about these topics for a while, as I really enjoy the presence of birds in metropolitan environments. As urbanization becomes more prevalent, birds are adapting rapidly to human created environments and develop unique adaptations to survive in these habitats. As of 2023, 56% of the world’s population lives in cities. By 2050, it is predicted that 68% of people will live in urban areas. As a result, urban sprawl is expected to increase, as much as 1.2 million km² of new urban development by 2030. This increase in area will put more pressure on wildlife species, natural resources, and climate change patterns11.
Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
One of the most recognizable bird species in the world, the rock dove or rock pigeon, is estimated to have a population exceeding 260 million individuals and are found on every continent except Antarctica. By this estimation, pigeons are the fifth most populous bird species in the world. There are three denominations of this species: wild, feral, and domesticated12. The success of the feral population is directly tied to urbanization and human expansion of suitable habitats. Pigeons have a long history with humans and are considered the world’s oldest domesticated bird, with archeological evidence indicating domestication between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. Since domestication, these birds have been utilized as food sources, ceremonial symbols, messengers, companions, medical imagers, and military animals13. Pigeons have been utilized since the 6th century for military communications, and they were even trained to guide bombs and engage in photographic espionage in both World Wars1415. Ultimately, pigeons have played an important role throughout modern human history and it is only until the last 80 years we have decided to forsake them as urban pests.
The relation between humans and urbanized pigeon populations can represent a much larger pattern of human-non-human interactions. Historically, pigeons have been nothing but positive in the context of human development. We have intentionally domesticated and bred these birds to serve our human purposes for thousands of years, but have decided that they are now dirty, destructive pests that serve no purpose in our human spaces. This reveals a deep sense of separateness from nature that cities imbue within people, as well as an embedded desire for control within our concrete jungles. Many people have unconsciously decided that built environments are completely separated from natural environments, and cities should only serve explicit human purposes. The presence of pigeons challenges these ideas and reminds city dwellers that they are not separate from nature, they have very little control of their environment, and there are more nuanced urban environments that other adaptable species have taken advantage of.
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
The house sparrow is a member of the Passeridae known as the Old Word sparrows. Of the 43 species in this family, the house sparrow is the most abundant and widely distributed. There are an estimated 1.4 billion individuals found in numerous habitats, except dense forests and tundra. They are considered the most widespread wild bird species16. Originally native to Eurasia and northern Africa, they have spread throughout the world and are commonly considered invasive pests. In the United States, the house sparrow is one of the few species not protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act17.
The distribution of the house sparrow throughout the world is closely correlated to the expansion of human beings, and more specifically, the development of agriculture. House sparrows are a commensal species with humans, which means that the sparrows benefit and humans are not harmed or benefited from the interaction18. A researcher from the University of Oslo, Mark Ravinet, discovered that there are two main differences between commensal house sparrows and wild populations. These two genetic differences influenced craniofacial skull development and digestive adaptations to high-starch diets. Their beaks became more adapted to grains and seeds, while their digestive enzymes changed to process the new diet19. These changes reveal that the house sparrows associated with humans adapted to agriculturally influenced habitats. Humans and house sparrows have a long shared history and this relationship will only become more pronounced as our developed lands grow with time.
Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)
The hooded crow is a member of the Corvus genus, along with 46 other species of crows, ravens, and rooks. The hooded crow is closely related to the carrion crow and until 2002, they were considered one species. After fully sequencing the genomes of each species, researchers discovered less than 0.28% of the genome was different. The difference is in the lack of expression within a small part of chromosome 18, which creates the lack of plumage coloration on the body for hooded crows20. The two crow species are distributed within Eurasia, as demonstrated by the image below.
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Hooded crows are omnivorous, opportunistic foragers. They are also ecologically flexible and are capable of efficient learning. Thus, city environments are ideal habitats for these intelligent birds. The reasons for successful adaptation within cities include21:
Ample nesting opportunities
Diverse and continuous sources of food
Decreased predation from natural predators
Decreased competition for resources
Conclusion
Thank you tuning in and learning more about cities and some avian friends with me. I’m grateful that I can share these perspectives with you all and learn more about diverse topics. Hope you enjoyed and forever and always, stay Jilly! 🌲🐦⬛
https://www.botanicni-vrt.si/
https://www.bgci.org/
https://www.fws.gov/law/migratory-bird-treaty-act-1918#:~:text=The%20Migratory%20Bird%20Treaty%20Act%20(MBTA)%20prohibits%20the%20take%20(,U.S.%20Fish%20and%20Wildlife%20Service.
https://www.bbcearth.com/news/how-humans-shaped-the-evolution-of-the-worlds-most-common-bird
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2018.1246
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614002187
Simply another outstandingly, informative written "piece" interwoven with experience! Thank you for sharing your brilliance... Keep Jillin'!
Lovin the bird content!!