I am a secret sufferer of Ornithophobia – the fear of birds, but I recently came to know about it. I am still researching it, trying to gather as much information as possible to cope with it for the next years of my life.
So as mentioned before, I have Ornithophobia. I may not say it is medically claimed by a professional, but I get panicked and have a racing heartbeat when I encounter birds, especially pigeons. I fear all the birds, but the most prominent are pigeons.
I do remember things clearly. My father had put up a bird feeder in my window, and those creatures used to munch on the food by rushing into it. I would get freaked out by their loud flutter. I asked my dad to get rid of that thing and get my window covered by a nice net. But it was my mother who refused to do it as she would think that a room with closed or sealed windows would become a breeding ground for germs and diseases. She would always want the sunshine to enter the house. I managed a few days after that, but then the birds started entering the room and sitting on the ceiling fans. I had already feared birds till then, and then such acts would chill down my spine. I would rush out of my room, shouting, and my mom would not like it. My family used to think that I was “overreacting” to silly things. But only I knew what I felt. That’s how phobias curse us. Things that are silly or absolutely normal for others make us shout and scream and panicked with fear.
One unfortunate day, the faculty assigned me a place just next to the window at my classes. I tried not to look or pay attention towards the window until there wasn’t anything waiting for me. And, things went just the way they shouldn’t. A pigeon landed inside. Another followed. They began flapping their wings and fighting. That’s it! That’s when I stood up, shouting and disturbing the whole class. The pigeons kept on fighting, and I kept on shouting. My faculty always kept the windows closed from that day and made me sit on the first bench to avoid that situation.
I still fear birds and pigeons, become extremely cautious and full of emotions, and have a thumping heart whenever I hear even their sound or flapping of wings.
Me and Birds
What Now?
Read comments from others who are dealing with this phobia or share your own experiences below. Remember, you're not alone!
I have a dreadful fear of most birds. At the top of the list are pigeons and chickens.
All birds frighten me, except for crows, ducks, and ravens. My first experience was a trauma when I was attacked by a big male pigeon in Copenhagen City Hall Square when I was 4 years old. My father had to pry the bird off my little head. When I was 7, my sister’s bully school friend heard of my phobia and sneaked up on me and threw a large chicken into my face. And, for reasons I cannot fathom, someone took me to see the film, “The Birds,” where I fainted outright and had to be carried home.
Around that time, I developed a transient fear of tulips. Yes, the flower. Also pansies. I felt their “faces” would enlarge and swallow me. This phobia passed on its own. I gave a class talk on it, which was poorly received. Little wonder!
My mother was a bird lover and took every opportunity to berate me for my phobia, whereas her sister, my best aunt Else, was also afraid of birds. When I was 12, a black bird flew in my bedroom window, and a year later, a sparrow flew in. By this time, I was quite the mess when it came to birds.
When we moved to Canada, I was okay because we lived in the country away from city birds. Then I went to art college in Toronto, where there were millions of pigeons, and my life outdoors became all about avoiding them. To make matters worse, they roosted outside our apartment window, cooing at all hours and flapping their wings.
One day, I almost got hit by a bus trying to escape a pigeon on a busy downtown thoroughfare. I decided to go to therapy and was accepted into a phobia clinic at Sunnybrook Psychiatric Hospital. I went there twice a week for almost two years, doing behaviour modification. I had to raise a chicken from the egg, so gross.
Eventually, I married and we moved out west to a small town with no pigeons. My phobia was still present, though, around other birds, which caused a number of dramatic and embarrassing incidents over the years. Occasionally, my bird-crazy mother would try to “fix” me by emailing me pictures of birds she found pretty. Very strange.
Then my father had a stroke and went into long-term care. At home, my mother would visit, and they would sit outside and feed the crows. I would sometimes join them. For some reason, I was not afraid, only wary of the crows. They never came too close or startled me. After his death, I started taking long walks in our neighbourhood, which turned out to be full of crows.
To avoid being mobbed when they were nesting, I began to leave them peanuts. I learned this from a blog I was reading. They learned I was “safe” and a source of treats. Now I have a loyal crow following me when I take my morning walk.
I still freak out in the city if I come upon a pigeon without warning. But generally, I am much calmer.
I do wonder whether my mother had a cruel streak, and that was why she would try to make me like birds. She was a very competitive woman, and I was usually better at many things important to her. So maybe the bird thing gave her power. Pretty bizarre.
Now, hand me a snake or a tarantula and I am just fine!