Interesting research, based on studying 26,000 Europeans, indicating that “the effect of bird species richness on life-satisfaction may be of similar magnitude to that of income.” The researchers note:

“An increase in bird species richness by 10% is related to a raise in life-satisfaction approximately 1.53 times more than a similar proportional rise in income”.

Obviously the usual causation and correlation issues apply, particularly with something as slippery (flighty?) as researching the presence, range, and impact of bird species across spatial dimensions. But even if species richness is a proxy, “it may prove that managing…