My Australian friends seem surprised when I explain that it is unusual for birds to be found inside buildings in America. Unless my memory is a complete failure, I'm pretty sure it is not common to see birds inside places such as schools, shopping malls, and grocery stores in the US. We are not talking about "open air" buildings either...these are structures that are not exposed to the outdoors with the exception of doors and windows that generally remain closed.
Birds frequently visit the school building where I work. I suspect that birds get into the building when doors and/or windows are opened, and from there they decide to stay. I have thought perhaps that this has something to do with the fact that a lot of buildings in Australia do not have screens on the windows.
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| This bird made it into an office that is inside of another office! |
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| A bird on the indoor running track, which is right next to the school cafe area, called the "canteen". |
In our local mall ("shopping centre" in Australian English), there are heaps of birds. There is a tree inside the mall that I am sure is home to more than one bird.
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| Inside our local shopping centre. Lots of bird noises come from that tree. |
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| These two birds were just walking in and out of the shopping centre using the automated doors! |
I often seen birds in the grocery store (which is inside the shopping centre), flying above the aisles. I have been trying for weeks to take a picture as proof, but the birds fly away quickly! Today there was a bird on the ground in the nut, seed, and dried fruit aisle, but just as I got my phone out to take a picture, he walked under the shelves. The amazing thing is that no one seems fazed by the birds in the grocery store!
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| The bird was right in the middle of the aisle, I swear! |
When we lived in America, Erik and I once had a bird make a nest in our clothes dryer vent, but that was as close as we came to having an encounter with birds inside buildings. American friends, surely I am not forgetting birds in buildings? Please correct me if I am wrong!
You are not wrong! Birds in buildings are pretty unusual. Birds in homes are rare … UNLESS … you happen to have indoor/outdoor cats who bring them in! (Fun.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, in the U.S., I believe a bird in the house is considered by many to be a dreaded omen. (Seriously.)
Seems like there must be an explanation, though, for the larger buildings, other than screens. It isn’t unusual in the U.S. to see, like, one bird flying around in a big grocery store, discount store, Lowe’s type place with high warehouse-style ceilings, or maybe one or two in a mall, perhaps. But not heaps. You’re probably right about screens being a big factor in homes.