[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":151},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-en-ornithophobia":3},{"post":4,"related":101,"path":145,"pair":146,"otherIndex":149,"index":150},{"slug":5,"lang":6,"translation":7,"weight":8,"title":9,"description":10,"seoTitle":11,"seoDescription":12,"date":13,"updated":-1,"cover":14,"coverAlt":15,"tags":16,"accent":20,"game":21,"vrApp":22,"readingMinutes":23,"pieces":24,"toc":36,"faq":79},"ornithophobia","en","ornithophobie",30,"Ornithophobia (fear of birds): meaning, causes, how common it is and how to overcome it","Ornithophobia is the fear of birds, a specific phobia of the animal type. What the word means, how to pronounce it, which birds people fear, symptoms, causes, how common it is, a quick self-check, and how to overcome it.","Ornithophobia (Fear of Birds): Meaning, Causes & Help","Ornithophobia is the fear of birds. What it means, how to say it, which birds people fear, causes, how common it is, a self-check and how to overcome it.","2026-10-03","/games/vr-phobia/store/park-sparrows.webp","Sparrows hopping on a sunny gravel path in a park, seen up close in VR Phobia: Birds.",[17,18,19],"Ornithophobia","Fear of birds","Phobias","#4aa8e8","vr-phobia","birds",8,[25,28,30,32,34],{"kind":26,"html":27},"html","\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Ornithophobia is the fear of birds\u003C/strong>: an intense, lasting fear of birds, out of proportion to any real danger, that leads people to avoid them. It is a \u003Cstrong>specific phobia\u003C/strong> of the animal type, like the \u003Ca href=\"/blog/arachnophobia\">fear of spiders\u003C/a> or dogs. So if you are wondering what the fear of birds is called, the answer is ornithophobia; people also simply say bird phobia, phobia of birds, or being scared of birds.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>This article is general information, not medical advice. If a fear of birds affects your daily life, talk to a doctor or a therapist trained in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).\u003C/p>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"what-does-ornithophobia-mean\">What does ornithophobia mean?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Ornithophobia means “fear of birds”. The word joins two Greek roots: \u003Cem>ornis\u003C/em> (stem \u003Cem>ornith-\u003C/em>), “bird”, and \u003Cem>phobos\u003C/em>, “fear”, which originally meant “flight”, as in running away, before it became the common word for fear, according to the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.etymonline.com/word/ornitho-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Online Etymology Dictionary\u003C/a> and its entry for \u003Ca href=\"https://www.etymonline.com/word/-phobia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">-phobia\u003C/a>. The same \u003Cem>ornitho-\u003C/em> root gives ornithology, the study of birds.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"how-do-you-pronounce-ornithophobia\">How do you pronounce ornithophobia?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Say it \u003Cstrong>or-nih-thuh-FOH-bee-uh\u003C/strong>, with the stress on “FOH”. \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ornithophobia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wiktionary\u003C/a> gives the American pronunciation as /ˌɔɹnɪθəˈfoʊbiə/ and the British one as /ˌɔːnɪθəˈfəʊbɪə/.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"ornithophobia-is-a-fear-of-which-creatures\">Ornithophobia is a fear of which creatures?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Ornithophobia is a fear of birds. For some people that means every bird; for others it is mostly one kind, such as pigeons, gulls or large birds, or mostly one feature: flapping wings, sudden take-offs, beaks, claws or feathers. Many people say the movement frightens them more than a bird sitting still.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"fear-of-specific-birds\">Fear of specific birds\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>The fears below are common descriptions, not separate diagnoses. Whatever the bird, it is still ornithophobia, and it responds to the same approach.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"fear-of-pigeons\">Fear of pigeons\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Pigeons are the birds most people meet every day, on pavements, squares and café terraces. They often walk close, gather in flocks around food and can take off all at once, which is why the fear of pigeons is one of the most commonly described.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cfigure>\u003Cimg src=\"/games/vr-phobia/store/great-square-lift-off.webp\" alt=\"Pigeons lifting off all at once across a great Venetian-style square in VR Phobia: Birds\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\">\u003Cfigcaption>VR Phobia: Birds: a whole flock of pigeons lifting off across the great square.\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"fear-of-seagulls\">Fear of seagulls\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Gulls are large, loud and bold around food. People often describe fearing their swoops, their calls and the way they circle overhead at the beach or by the harbour.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"fear-of-crows\">Fear of crows\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Crows and ravens are big, dark and intelligent birds, sometimes seen as ominous in stories. People who fear them often mention their size, their calls and the feeling of being watched.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"fear-of-parrots\">Fear of parrots\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Parrots are close to people at home, in pet shops and aviaries. Their strong beaks, loud screeches and sudden flapping are what people with this fear usually mention.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cfigure>\u003Cimg src=\"/games/vr-phobia/store/glasshouse-macaws.webp\" alt=\"Macaws perched inside a glasshouse aviary in VR Phobia: Birds\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\">\u003Cfigcaption>VR Phobia: Birds: macaws perched in the glasshouse aviary.\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"fear-of-chickens-and-hens\">Fear of chickens and hens\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Hens are small but fast and unpredictable: they run, flap and peck at the ground around your feet, which is what tends to unsettle people on farms or in gardens.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"fear-of-eagles-and-birds-of-prey\">Fear of eagles and birds of prey\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Eagles, hawks and owls are large birds with talons and hooked beaks. Fear of them usually centres on their size and sharp features rather than everyday encounters, which are rare.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"fear-of-feathers-pteronophobia\">Fear of feathers (pteronophobia)\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Pteronophobia is the fear of feathers\u003C/strong>, from the Greek \u003Cem>pteron\u003C/em>, “feather”, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pteronophobia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wiktionary\u003C/a>. It can exist on its own, for example a strong aversion to touching feathers or feather pillows, or as part of ornithophobia when feathers are one of the things a person fears about birds. Like other specific fears, it responds to gradual exposure.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"what-are-the-symptoms-of-ornithophobia\">What are the symptoms of ornithophobia?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Symptoms appear near birds, or just from thinking about them. The \u003Ca href=\"https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/phobias/overview/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NHS\u003C/a> lists the typical symptoms of a phobia:\u003C/p>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>feeling dizzy or light-headed, a pounding or unusual heartbeat, tightness in the chest;\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>feeling sick, trembling or shaking;\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>severe anxiety, and an intense fear of fainting, losing control or dying.\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\u003Cp>Then comes \u003Cstrong>avoidance\u003C/strong>: changing routes, refusing café terraces, staying away from parks, beaches or town squares. The fear can feel overwhelming even when you know the bird is harmless.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"why-are-birds-scary-to-some-people\">Why are birds scary to some people?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Birds move in ways that are hard to predict: they take off suddenly, fly close to your face, gather in flocks and flap loudly. For someone already anxious around them, that unpredictability is often the scariest part. What keeps the fear going over time is mostly avoidance, as the diagram below shows.\u003C/p>\n",{"kind":29},"cycle",{"kind":26,"html":31},"\u003Ch2 id=\"what-causes-ornithophobia\">What causes ornithophobia?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>There is no single known cause. The \u003Ca href=\"https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/anxiety-and-stressor-related-disorders/specific-phobic-disorders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MSD Manual\u003C/a> states that the causes of phobias are unknown. The \u003Ca href=\"https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/phobias/overview/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NHS\u003C/a> notes that many phobias can be linked to a frightening event or a stressful situation, such as a frightening childhood experience with an animal, and that a phobia can also be learned from family or friends who have one. Phobias usually develop in childhood, the teenage years or early adulthood.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Whatever started it, avoidance keeps it alive: each escape brings relief, and the relief teaches you that escaping was necessary. Exposure research by \u003Ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2014.04.006\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Craske et al.\u003C/a> (\u003Cem>Behaviour Research and Therapy\u003C/em>, 2014) shows that new, safer learning happens when you stay and discover that what you expected does not happen.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"how-common-is-ornithophobia\">How common is ornithophobia?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>There is no reliable figure for ornithophobia alone.\u003C/strong> Large surveys measure specific phobias as a group, not the fear of birds on its own, so any precise percentage for bird phobia you may read online is not backed by data.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>What we do know about specific phobias as a whole:\u003C/p>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>across 25 surveys in 22 countries, about \u003Cstrong>7.4% of adults\u003C/strong> have had a specific phobia at some point in their life, and it usually starts in childhood, with a median onset at age 8 (\u003Ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000174\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wardenaar et al.\u003C/a>, \u003Cem>Psychological Medicine\u003C/em>, 2017);\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>in the United States, an estimated \u003Cstrong>12.5%\u003C/strong> of adults experience a specific phobia in their lifetime (\u003Ca href=\"https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/specific-phobia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NIMH\u003C/a>);\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>fears and phobias of heights and of \u003Cstrong>animals\u003C/strong> are the most common kinds (\u003Ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30169-X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eaton et al.\u003C/a>, \u003Cem>The Lancet Psychiatry\u003C/em>, 2018).\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"how-many-people-have-ornithophobia\">How many people have ornithophobia?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Nobody knows precisely. Bird phobia belongs to the animal type of specific phobia, one of the most common types, but no large study has counted people with ornithophobia specifically.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"do-i-have-ornithophobia-a-quick-self-check\">Do I have ornithophobia? A quick self-check\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>This is not a test and it cannot diagnose anything. It follows the summary of the DSM-5-TR criteria for specific phobia in the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/anxiety-and-stressor-related-disorders/specific-phobic-disorders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MSD Manual\u003C/a>, and only helps you decide whether to talk to a professional.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cform class=\"selfcheck\" aria-label=\"Fear of birds self-check\">\n\u003Cfieldset>\n\u003Clegend>Tick what applies to you\u003C/legend>\n\u003Clabel>\u003Cinput type=\"checkbox\" name=\"q1\"> I have felt a marked fear or anxiety about birds for six months or more.\u003C/label>\n\u003Clabel>\u003Cinput type=\"checkbox\" name=\"q2\"> Seeing or approaching a bird almost always triggers that fear straight away.\u003C/label>\n\u003Clabel>\u003Cinput type=\"checkbox\" name=\"q3\"> I avoid places with birds, or I get through them with intense fear.\u003C/label>\n\u003Clabel>\u003Cinput type=\"checkbox\" name=\"q4\"> I feel the fear is out of proportion to the actual danger.\u003C/label>\n\u003Clabel>\u003Cinput type=\"checkbox\" name=\"q5\"> The fear or the avoidance causes me real distress or gets in the way of my daily life, work or social life.\u003C/label>\n\u003C/fieldset>\n\u003Cp class=\"selfcheck__note\">\u003Cstrong>This is not a diagnosis.\u003C/strong> If you ticked most of these boxes, or if the fear bothers you, talk to your doctor or a therapist trained in CBT. Only a professional can assess a phobia.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/form>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"how-to-overcome-ornithophobia\">How to overcome ornithophobia\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>The best-supported way to overcome a fear of birds is \u003Cstrong>gradual exposure\u003C/strong>, the core of cognitive behavioural therapy: you approach birds in small steps, stay long enough to learn that the feared outcome doesn’t happen, and repeat in different places until real-life encounters feel manageable. According to the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/anxiety-and-stressor-related-disorders/specific-phobic-disorders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MSD Manual\u003C/a>, exposure therapy helps around 85% of people with a specific phobia, and even a single session can make a real difference.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Our step-by-step guide explains how to build a fear ladder, how long to stay, how often to practise and when to get help: \u003Cstrong>\u003Ca href=\"/blog/how-to-overcome-ornithophobia\">How to overcome ornithophobia\u003C/a>\u003C/strong>.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"can-virtual-reality-help-with-a-fear-of-birds\">Can virtual reality help with a fear of birds?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Virtual reality can make the first steps easier to reach and to repeat: the bird is there whenever you are ready, and you control its distance, number and movement. For specific phobias in general, a meta-analysis of 30 randomised trials found VR exposure as effective as real-life exposure (\u003Ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.08.003\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Carl et al.\u003C/a>, \u003Cem>Journal of Anxiety Disorders\u003C/em>, 2019). The honest caveat: these studies are mostly about heights, spiders and flying, not birds. More in \u003Ca href=\"/blog/why-virtual-reality-works-for-phobias\">Why virtual reality works for phobias\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n",{"kind":33},"cta",{"kind":26,"html":35},"\u003Csection class=\"post__faq\" aria-labelledby=\"faq\">\u003Ch2 id=\"faq\">FAQ\u003C/h2>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"what-is-ornithophobia\">What is ornithophobia?\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Ornithophobia is the fear of birds: an intense, lasting fear of birds, out of proportion to the actual danger, that leads to avoidance. It is a specific phobia of the animal type.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"what-does-ornithophobia-mean-1\">What does ornithophobia mean?\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>It means “fear of birds”, from the Greek \u003Cem>ornis\u003C/em> (\u003Cem>ornith-\u003C/em>), “bird”, and \u003Cem>phobos\u003C/em>, “fear”.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"how-do-you-pronounce-ornithophobia-1\">How do you pronounce ornithophobia?\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Or-nih-thuh-FOH-bee-uh, stressed on “FOH”. In phonetic notation: /ˌɔɹnɪθəˈfoʊbiə/ (American) or /ˌɔːnɪθəˈfəʊbɪə/ (British).\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"what-is-the-fear-of-birds-called\">What is the fear of birds called?\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>The fear of birds is called ornithophobia. The fear of feathers specifically is called pteronophobia.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"ornithophobia-is-a-fear-of-which-creatures-1\">Ornithophobia is a fear of which creatures?\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Birds. Some people fear all birds, others mainly pigeons, gulls, crows, parrots, hens or birds of prey, or mainly flapping wings and feathers.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"what-causes-ornithophobia-1\">What causes ornithophobia?\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>There is no single known cause. Many phobias can be linked to a frightening experience or learned from people close to you, and avoidance keeps the fear going.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"how-common-is-ornithophobia-1\">How common is ornithophobia?\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>There is no reliable figure for the fear of birds alone. Specific phobias as a whole affect about 7.4% of adults at some point in their life across 22 countries, and animal phobias are among the most common types.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"how-many-people-have-ornithophobia-1\">How many people have ornithophobia?\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Nobody has counted it on its own. It belongs to the animal type of specific phobia, one of the most common types.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"how-to-overcome-ornithophobia-1\">How to overcome ornithophobia?\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>With gradual, repeated exposure to birds, ideally guided by a therapist trained in CBT: build a ladder of situations from easy to hard, stay with each step, practise often and take it into real life. See our step-by-step guide.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/section>\u003Csection class=\"post__sources\" aria-labelledby=\"sources\">\u003Ch2 id=\"sources\">Sources\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>Wiktionary. “ornithophobia” and “pteronophobia” (etymology and pronunciation). \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ornithophobia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ornithophobia\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pteronophobia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pteronophobia\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Online Etymology Dictionary. “ornitho-” and “-phobia”. \u003Ca href=\"https://www.etymonline.com/word/ornitho-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">etymonline.com/word/ornitho-\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://www.etymonline.com/word/-phobia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">etymonline.com/word/-phobia\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>NHS. Phobias: overview. \u003Ca href=\"https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/phobias/overview/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nhs.uk\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Barnhill JW. Specific phobias. \u003Cem>MSD Manual Professional Version\u003C/em>, reviewed April 2026. \u003Ca href=\"https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/anxiety-and-stressor-related-disorders/specific-phobic-disorders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">msdmanuals.com\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>National Institute of Mental Health. Specific phobia (statistics, National Comorbidity Survey Replication). \u003Ca href=\"https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/specific-phobia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nimh.nih.gov\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Wardenaar KJ, Lim CCW, Al-Hamzawi AO, et al. The cross-national epidemiology of specific phobia in the World Mental Health Surveys. \u003Cem>Psychological Medicine\u003C/em>. 2017;47(10):1744–1760. \u003Ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000174\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">doi:10.1017/S0033291717000174\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Eaton WW, Bienvenu OJ, Miloyan B. Specific phobias. \u003Cem>The Lancet Psychiatry\u003C/em>. 2018;5(8):678–686. \u003Ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30169-X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30169-X\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Craske MG, Treanor M, Conway CC, Zbozinek T, Vervliet B. Maximizing exposure therapy: an inhibitory learning approach. \u003Cem>Behaviour Research and Therapy\u003C/em>. 2014;58:10–23. \u003Ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2014.04.006\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">doi:10.1016/j.brat.2014.04.006\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Carl E, Stein AT, Levihn-Coon A, et al. Virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety and related disorders: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. \u003Cem>Journal of Anxiety Disorders\u003C/em>. 2019;61:27–36. \u003Ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.08.003\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.08.003\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\u003C/section>",[37,40,43,46,49,52,55,58,61,64,67,70,73,76],{"id":38,"text":39},"what-does-ornithophobia-mean","What does ornithophobia mean?",{"id":41,"text":42},"how-do-you-pronounce-ornithophobia","How do you pronounce ornithophobia?",{"id":44,"text":45},"ornithophobia-is-a-fear-of-which-creatures","Ornithophobia is a fear of which creatures?",{"id":47,"text":48},"fear-of-specific-birds","Fear of specific birds",{"id":50,"text":51},"fear-of-feathers-pteronophobia","Fear of feathers (pteronophobia)",{"id":53,"text":54},"what-are-the-symptoms-of-ornithophobia","What are the symptoms of ornithophobia?",{"id":56,"text":57},"why-are-birds-scary-to-some-people","Why are birds scary to some people?",{"id":59,"text":60},"what-causes-ornithophobia","What causes ornithophobia?",{"id":62,"text":63},"how-common-is-ornithophobia","How common is ornithophobia?",{"id":65,"text":66},"how-many-people-have-ornithophobia","How many people have ornithophobia?",{"id":68,"text":69},"do-i-have-ornithophobia-a-quick-self-check","Do I have ornithophobia? A quick self-check",{"id":71,"text":72},"how-to-overcome-ornithophobia","How to overcome ornithophobia",{"id":74,"text":75},"can-virtual-reality-help-with-a-fear-of-birds","Can virtual reality help with a fear of birds?",{"id":77,"text":78},"faq","FAQ",[80,83,85,87,90,92,94,96,98],{"q":81,"a":82},"What is ornithophobia?","Ornithophobia is the fear of birds: an intense, lasting fear of birds, out of proportion to the actual danger, that leads to avoidance. It is a specific phobia of the animal type.",{"q":39,"a":84},"It means \"fear of birds\", from the Greek ornis (ornith-), \"bird\", and phobos, \"fear\".",{"q":42,"a":86},"Or-nih-thuh-FOH-bee-uh, stressed on \"FOH\". In phonetic notation: /ˌɔɹnɪθəˈfoʊbiə/ (American) or /ˌɔːnɪθəˈfəʊbɪə/ (British).",{"q":88,"a":89},"What is the fear of birds called?","The fear of birds is called ornithophobia. The fear of feathers specifically is called pteronophobia.",{"q":45,"a":91},"Birds. Some people fear all birds, others mainly pigeons, gulls, crows, parrots, hens or birds of prey, or mainly flapping wings and feathers.",{"q":60,"a":93},"There is no single known cause. Many phobias can be linked to a frightening experience or learned from people close to you, and avoidance keeps the fear going.",{"q":63,"a":95},"There is no reliable figure for the fear of birds alone. Specific phobias as a whole affect about 7.4% of adults at some point in their life across 22 countries, and animal phobias are among the most common types.",{"q":66,"a":97},"Nobody has counted it on its own. It belongs to the animal type of specific phobia, one of the most common types.",{"q":99,"a":100},"How to overcome ornithophobia?","With gradual, repeated exposure to birds, ideally guided by a therapist trained in CBT: build a ladder of situations from easy to hard, stay with each step, practise often and take it into real life. See our step-by-step guide.",[102,117,131],{"slug":103,"lang":6,"translation":104,"weight":8,"title":105,"description":106,"seoTitle":107,"seoDescription":108,"date":109,"updated":-1,"cover":110,"coverAlt":111,"tags":112,"accent":20,"game":21,"vrApp":116,"readingMinutes":23},"acrophobia","acrophobie","Acrophobia (fear of heights): meaning, vertigo, causes, how common it is and how to overcome it","Acrophobia is the fear of heights, the most common specific phobia in some surveys. What the word means, how it differs from vertigo, symptoms, causes, how common it is, a quick self-check, and how to overcome it.","Acrophobia (Fear of Heights): Meaning, Vertigo & Help","Acrophobia is the fear of heights. What it means, how it differs from vertigo, symptoms, causes, how common it is, a self-check and how to overcome it.","2026-10-05","/blog/acrophobia/cover.webp","Illustration of a wooden mountain lookout with a sturdy railing at golden hour, overlooking a green valley and a winding river.",[113,114,115,19],"Acrophobia","Fear of heights","Vertigo","heights",{"slug":118,"lang":6,"translation":119,"weight":8,"title":120,"description":121,"seoTitle":122,"seoDescription":123,"date":109,"updated":-1,"cover":124,"coverAlt":125,"tags":126,"accent":20,"game":21,"vrApp":129,"readingMinutes":130},"arachnophobia","arachnophobie","Arachnophobia (fear of spiders): meaning, causes, how common it is and how to overcome it","Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders, one of the most common specific phobias. What the word means, how to pronounce it, symptoms, causes, how common it is, a quick self-check, and how to overcome it.","Arachnophobia (Fear of Spiders): Meaning, Causes & Help","Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders. What it means, how to say it, symptoms, causes, how common it is, a quick self-check and how to overcome it.","/blog/arachnophobia/cover.webp","Illustration of a small house spider on a web in the corner of a sunny window, seen from across a calm living room.",[127,128,19],"Arachnophobia","Fear of spiders","spiders",7,{"slug":132,"lang":6,"translation":133,"weight":8,"title":134,"description":135,"seoTitle":136,"seoDescription":137,"date":109,"updated":-1,"cover":138,"coverAlt":139,"tags":140,"accent":143,"game":21,"vrApp":144,"readingMinutes":23},"claustrophobia","claustrophobie","Claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces): meaning, symptoms, causes and how to overcome it","Claustrophobia is the fear of enclosed spaces such as lifts, tunnels, crowded trains and MRI scanners. What the word means, how to pronounce it, symptoms, causes, how common it is, a quick self-check, and how to overcome it.","Claustrophobia: Meaning, Symptoms, Causes and Help","Claustrophobia is the fear of enclosed spaces like lifts, tunnels and MRI scanners. Meaning, symptoms, causes, how common it is and how to overcome it.","/blog/claustrophobia/cover.webp","Illustration of a softly lit corridor opening onto a wide, bright doorway with open sky beyond.",[141,142,19],"Claustrophobia","Fear of enclosed spaces","#7a8ca3","closed-spaces","/blog/ornithophobia",{"lang":147,"path":148},"fr","/fr/blog/ornithophobie","/fr/blog","/blog",1791217432345]