Can Birds Boost Our Wellbeing? Discover Their Surprising Benefits!

This article is published in partnership with La Salamandre.

From her earliest memories, Élise Rousseau has been surrounded by birds. Her grandfathers: one a naturalist and scientist at the Natural History Museum in Paris, the other a contemplative woodsman; her grandmothers fed tits and even the less beloved crows. “ My father made me love chickens by showing me their humorous side, and my mother, an artist, painted birds ”, shares Rousseau.

During our interview in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, amidst a media tour for her book (published by Albin Michel, 2025), her attention is frequently drawn to the ring-necked parakeets and crows around us. Even city pigeons catch her eye, as this lover of all living things holds a special place in her heart for animals that live close to us, like horses and chickens. Watching her face light up at the sight of a plump pigeon ambling among tourists, one understands the essence of bird therapy. Birds are ever-present companions, their mere observation offering immediate, natural joy.

“ Bursting into laughter at the antics of a blackbird, a starling, or one of my chickens reminds me how fortunate I am to enjoy their presence ”, she notes, adding that nature plays a crucial role in the balance of her entire being. Rousseau even knows several ornithologists who claim that birds have saved their lives.

Originally from Brittany and still residing there, the author is aware that many people fail to notice the omnipresence of birds. “ Some see them, but very few observe them and are aware of their presence. ”

She recalls a lady who told her that the world seemed different since she began consciously observing nature. Whether metaphorical or a reality soon to be scientifically proven, humans are increasingly shortsighted, accustomed to focusing on a screen just 30 cm away or at most, across the street. “ Watching birds is a practice in seeing both the distant and the minute details. It’s a skill that proves useful in other areas of life. I’ve noticed that bird lovers tend to be keen observers of human relationships. ”

And what about our hearing ? Listening to birds chirping and twittering can enhance well-being and reduce anxiety, a fact now scientifically proven. Yet, many teenagers, busy workers, and commuters move through life with earphones glued in or headphones clamped over their ears. Isolated from the noise of traffic and city clamor, yes, but also cut off from enduring sounds of nature, like the song of a blackbird or the chatter of swallows.

“ You might find me old-fashioned, but I don’t use headphones and rarely see people with them where I live. In the countryside of Brittany, the wind, the waves, and the birdsong provide a soundtrack akin to those found in relaxation music. ”

For Élise Rousseau, it’s not necessary for everyone to become a scientist and detail every aspect of a bird’s life: its specific identity, habitat, diet, age… “ For Philippe, my partner and co-author of ‘Ornithotherapy,’ identifying is a passion. It allows him to delve into the intimacy of the bird, a gateway to many fascinating discoveries. For me, you can enjoy the beauty of an animal without knowing what it is. It might lead us to poetry, drawing, philosophy, pottery, or simply a pleasant moment. ”

A proponent of a sensory approach to life, Rousseau adds that bird therapy encompasses all approaches, and no hierarchy exists between an elderly lady admiring a robin from her apartment window and an adventurous ornithologist thrilled by identifying subspecies of warblers.

“ I remember my grandmother calling me to describe an unusual bird at her feeder. It led to many laughs because I could barely understand her descriptions. A blue-gray bird with a hint of dolphin turned out to be a nuthatch !”, the naturalist chuckles. For this philosopher by training, the animal we observe immediately helps us to let go—a fashionable term inviting us to dismiss past ruminations and future anxieties. Because of the fleeting nature of birds, always ready to vanish at a moment’s notice, ornitho— a term used to describe the amateur practice of ornithology, inspired by the Anglo-Saxon ‘birdwatching’—is an exceptional activity for grounding oneself in the present moment, effortlessly.

Among the benefits of reconnecting with nature and its non-human inhabitants, the message from Élise Rousseau and Philippe J. Dubois suggests breaking a barrier that sometimes seems insurmountable: fear. Fear of the wild, fear of the night, fear of the unknown. For a gentle start, there’s nothing like a moonlit walk, from your own home, with friends or a pet. The call of an owl or the fleeting silhouette of a barn owl brings profound sensations.

Such moments, stripped of all artifice and with heightened senses, pave the way for demystifying and dismantling superstitions. “ I worked for several years at the Raptor Intervention Fund—now part of the League for the Protection of Birds—and realized how much superstitions have harmed certain species. I’ve experienced the liberation from my own prejudices. Today, I can appreciate the great beauty of vultures, for example. ”

But, isn’t getting closer to nature also confronting the major issues currently affecting it ? Watching birds, isn’t that hearing them suffer or disappear ? The risk of eco-anxiety lurks, potentially undermining all the benefits of contemplation… Rousseau doesn’t see it that way. For her, observing the antics of a crow or the acrobatics of a titmouse is to admire life, to witness resilience. Nonetheless, she knows enough nature lovers to see that melancholy doesn’t spare some among them.

The authors of ‘Ornithotherapy’ believe that observing birds helps to shed superficial worries and social differences. Birds don’t judge us. Just like domestic animals, such as horses, which are highly effective in therapy, in their presence, we are simply our true selves. But Rousseau is familiar with the birdwatching community, a group of meticulous observers where a spirit of competition and the display of expensive, high-performance equipment sometimes emerge. “ It’s a very small minority of behaviors that shouldn’t spoil the pure joy of contemplation. Birds don’t care if you are rich or poor, about your job, your family situation, your gender, etc. And that is incredibly liberating. ”

Birds are, above all, our neighbors. Wherever we live, they are there. Some are so widespread that they are sometimes the only common point, along with the stars, between the tenant of a studio on the tenth floor of an urban high-rise and the owner of a house in a village subdivision. The chirping of a sparrow, the cooing of a pigeon, and the flight of a swift connect these different lives. Though she has traveled extensively, Élise Rousseau pays tribute above all to the everyday happiness at home, provided by birds. “ I enjoy local travels. Tinkering, writing, or drawing under the watchful eye of a robin. ”