Did urban birds evolve when humans stayed home?

Posted February 27, 2026

Restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the spread of disease, but also dramatically changed the day-to-day lives of those around the globe. Many of us humans felt cooped up and claustrophobic.  But it was a different experience for plants and animals in urban environments – which suddenly became much more … wild once people started staying home. Recent research on junco songbirds in the Los Angeles area suggests that the shift – in particular, COVID policies at a local university that deprived the birds of a steady supply of food scraps left behind by students – may have prompted an evolutionary change in beak shape.

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