Editing Birdwatching (section)

==Socio-psychology==
{{See also|Biophilia hypothesis}}
[[Ethology|Ethologist]] [[Nikolaas Tinbergen]] considers birdwatching to be an expression of the male hunting instinct, while [[Simon Baron-Cohen]] links it with a male tendency for "systemizing".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Maddox |first=Bruno|year=2006|title=Blinded by Science: Birding Brains|journal=Discover|volume=27|issue=12|url=http://discovermagazine.com/2006/dec/blinded-twins-birding-instinct|pages=66–67}}</ref> There have been suggestions that identification of birds may be a form of gaining status which has been compared with [[Kula ring|Kula valuables]] noted in Papua New Guinean cultures.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/1467-8322.00077|last=Liep |first=John |year=2001|title= Airborne ''kula'':The appropriation of birds by Danish ornithologists|journal=Anthropology Today |volume=17|issue=5|pages=10–15}}</ref>

A study of the motivations for birdwatching in New York concluded that initial motivations were largely similar in males and females, but males who participate actively in birding are more motivated by "sharing knowledge" with others, and active female birders are more motivated by their "intellectual" interest in studying birds, and by the "challenge" of identifying new and rare birds and improving their skills.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sali |first1=M. |last2=Kuehn |first2=D. |last3=Zhang |first3=L. |year=2008|title=Motivations for Male and Female Birdwatchers in New York State|journal=Human Dimensions of Wildlife|volume=13|issue=3|pages=187–200|doi=10.1080/10871200801982795|bibcode=2008HDW....13..187S |s2cid=143802893}}</ref> Another study suggested that males lean towards competitive birding, while females prefer recreational birdwatching.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Cooper |last1=C. B. |first2=J. A. |last2=Smith |year=2010 |title=Gender patterns in bird-related recreation in the USA and UK|journal=Ecology and Society |volume=15|issue=4|page=4|doi=10.5751/ES-03603-150404 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A study for birdwatchers in Poland found that the proportion of female birdwatchers involved in twitching has grown in recent years and that female birdwatchers were more willing to participate in observations of more common bird rarities than male birdwatchers.<ref name=":2" /> While the representation of women has always been low,<ref name="Moss 2004:316-330">Moss 2004:316–330</ref> it has been pointed out that nearly 90% of all birdwatchers in the United States are white, with only a few African Americans.<ref>{{cite book|last=Robinson |first=J. C.|year=2005|title=Relative Prevalence of African Americans among Bird Watchers. General Technical Report PSW-GTR-191|publisher= U.S. Department of Agriculture–Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. Albany, Calif.|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr191/Asilomar/pdfs/1286-1296.pdf}}</ref> Other minority groups have formed organizations to support fellow birders, such as the Gay Birders Club<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbc-online.org.uk/|title=Home page|publisher=Gay Birders' Club}}</ref> and Birding For All, formerly the Disabled Birders Association.<ref name="Moss 2004:316-330"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://birdingforall.com/about-birding-for-all/ |title=About Birding For All |publisher=Birding for All |access-date=19 June 2023}}</ref>

The study of birdwatching has been of interest to students of the sociology of science.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Law |first1=J. |last2=Lynch |first2=M. |title=Lists, Field Guides, and the Descriptive Organization of Seeing: Birdwatching as an Exemplary Observational Activity in Representation in Scientific Practice |editor-first1=M. |editor-last1=Lynch |editor-first2=S. |editor-last2=Woolgar |publisher=Cambridge: MIT Press|year=1990|pages=267–299}}</ref> People who have nature-based experiences report better well-being and lower psychological distress than those who do not, and birdwatching in particular was found to have higher gains in subjective well-being and more reduction in distress than more generic nature exposure, such as walks.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/240503135334.htm |title=Birdwatching can help students improve mental health, reduce distress |publisher=North Carolina State University |via=Science Daily |date=3 May 2024 |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Birdwatching linked to increased psychological well-being on college campuses: A pilot-scale experimental study |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494424000793 |first1=M. Nils |last1=Peterson |first2=Lincoln R. |last2=Larson |first3=Aaron |last3=Hipp |first4=Justin M. |last4=Beall |first5=Catherine |last5=Lerose |first6=Hannah |last6=Desrochers |first7=Summer |last7=Lauder |first8=Sophia |last8=Torres |first9=Nathan A. |last9=Tarr |first10=Kayla |last10=Stukes |first11=Kathryn |last11=Stevenson |first12=Katherine L. |last12=Martin |display-authors=2 |doi=10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102306 |journal=Journal of Environmental Psychology |volume=96 |date=June 2024 |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref>