Fostering bird friendly cities: multispecies justice through pro-environmental behaviors

Effective nature-based solutions for biodiversity conservation hinge on knowledge of how people experience the outdoors in everyday life. However, relationships between human and non-human species are rarely combined into empirical models that operationalize research questions about multispecies justice. We examined how psychological drivers of pro-environmental behavior (PEB) interfaced with ecological conditions to understand urban human-bird interactions. We conducted surveys in racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods of two neighboring US cities. Self-efficacy and social normative beliefs increased private sphere behavior like creating more bird-friendly yards, whereas only social normative beliefs increased civic behavior like volunteering to improve wildlife habitat. These data were examined alongside seasonal bird point counts. Latent variable path modeling results showed that summer bird richness predicted perceived diversity, and in turn, aesthetic charisma of birds, and attitudes toward resource management. Our comparative and social-ecological research engaged diverse populations and offered new solutions to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world.