Ask a Birder

Ask a Birder: Can Birds be Pessimistic?

August 26, 2026 by Kai Pflug No Comments

Probably not in the way humans like me are. But research shows that some birds can display something similar to pessimism.

The experimental setup is quite clever. Birds are trained to associate one signal with a reward (food) and another with no reward. Then, they are presented with a signal somewhere in between. Do they now expect a reward – as an “optimistic” bird would – or expect to be disappointed, as a “pessimistic” bird would?

Their expectations even depend on their circumstances. Birds under stress tend to act more “pessimistically” (source), leading to research papers with interesting titles such as “Stereotyping Starlings are more ‘pessimistic‘”.

To be fair, this may not be quite the same as my kind of pessimism. Presumably, the birds’ previous experiences have made them more cautious – a sensible survival strategy rather than a gloomy outlook on life.

But then again, who says the same does not apply to me?

Written by Kai Pflug
Kai has lived in Shanghai for 22 years. He only started birding after moving to China, so he is far more familiar with Chinese birds than the ones back in his native Germany. As a birder, he considers himself strictly average and tries to make up for it with photography, which he shares on a separate website. Alas, most of the photos are pretty average as well. He hopes that few clients of his consulting firm—focused on China’s chemical industry—ever find this blog, as it might raise questions about his professional priorities. Much of his time is spent either editing posts for 10,000 Birds or cleaning the litter boxes of his numerous indoor cats. He occasionally considers writing a piece comparing the two activities.