Ornithophobia

A mosaic in the London Underground depicting a woman being attacked by birds, from the 1963 horror movie The Birds

Ornithophobia is the abnormal and irrational fear of birds, as well as a type of specific phobia.[1][2] The term may also refer to strong dislike of birds. People with ornithophobia are often afraid of specific types of birds, for example chickens, ducks, and/or pest birds in grain-producing areas.[3]

The prefix ornitho- signifies "of or pertaining to birds", from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (órnis, "bird").

  1. ^ London, Louis S. (January 1952). "Ailurophobia and ornithophobia". The Psychiatric Quarterly. 26 (1): 365–371. doi:10.1007/BF01568473. PMID 14949213. S2CID 1726994.
  2. ^ Irena Milosevic; Randi E. McCabe (3 March 2015). Phobias: The Psychology of Irrational Fear. ABC-CLIO. p. 252. ISBN 978-1-61069-576-3.
  3. ^ Bonta, Mark (2008). "Valorizing the relationships between people and birds: Experiences and lessons from Honduras". Ornitologia Neotropical. 19 (Supplement): 1–10.