One of the most common types of phobia is an irrational fear of animals. Although technically you can develop a fear of any animal -and in fact any stimulus in general-, in this article we will analyze one of the most common phobias: the ornithophobia or fear of birds .

We will focus on defining the main characteristics of ornithophobia: its definition, its relationship with other disorders, its characteristic symptoms and its most common causes . We will also briefly review other animal phobias (or zoophobias).

What is ornithophobia?

Ornithophobia is defined as an intense and irrational fear of birds . In the presence of a bird, the phobic person reacts with a physiological and/or cognitive response of anxiety; in some cases there may be anxiety attacks (popularly known as “panic attacks”).

In the DSM manuals the fear of birds is classified within the diagnostic category of Specific Phobia . To meet the criteria for this disorder, the fear must be excessive or irrational, persist for more than 6 months, and significantly interfere with the person’s life or cause a high degree of distress.

According to the DSM-IV, there are several types of specific phobia depending on the phobic stimulus: situational (driving, claustrophobia…), natural environment (heights, darkness…), the “blood/injection/injury” type (which often causes blood pressure drops) and the animal, among which is ornithophobia. There is also the residual subcategory “Other type”.

Meaning of the term

The word “ornithophobia” comes from the ancient Greek: the root “ornithos” means “bird” and “phobos” is translated as “panic”, so it literally translates as “panic of the birds”.

Sometimes the term is used more broadly to designate a intense dislike for some types of birds , such as those that abound in cities. In these cases the meaning of the word moves away from the connotation of fear, having a use more similar to that of concepts such as “homophobia” or “xenophobia”, in which “phobia” comes to mean “rejection”.

Common symptoms and manifestations

In addition to intense fear of the presence or anticipation of the phobic stimulus, the other basic criterion for the diagnosis of specific phobia according to the DSM-IV is the appearance of intense anxiety symptoms that can lead to panic attacks.

Anxiety attacks are brief periods of fear and discomfort that usually begin abruptly. They are characterised by physiological and cognitive symptoms; among the latter are fear of dying and losing control, while physical signs include the appearance of palpitations, sweating, dizziness, nausea, tremors and breathing difficulties.

What are you afraid of?

The fear may be in relation to a single species of bird, to birds of the same family, or it may constitute only a partial manifestation of a broader phobia of animals; in that case we would speak of zoophobia. It is possible that the fear appears only in relation to predatory birds , such as eagles, or with much smaller and harmless species.

People with animal-type phobias are often afraid of movement, especially when it is sudden; thus, in the case of ornithophobia, feelings of intense anxiety can arise if a pigeon suddenly appears to be fluttering, for example – or worse, a whole flock.

Although in some cases the person fears harm, in other cases they are simply afraid of being made a fool of or suffering physical problems because of their own anxiety. It is possible that feelings of disgust may appear in addition to anxiety , but this is more common in other animal phobias, especially those that are small, such as insects.

Causes of Ornithophobia

According to a study by Lipsitz and colleagues, about 90% of animal phobias start in childhood, specifically before the age of 12 . It affects more women than men, which is common in cases of specific phobia.

Most phobias develop from living through one or more traumatic situations. In the case of ornithophobia, events such as being pecked by a duck or a goose are typical examples of the contexts in which these fears tend to appear.

However, not all phobias are directly acquired: sometimes fears appear when observing or listening to the experiences of others . For example, a young girl might develop a phobia of birds after seeing Alfred Hitchcock’s film “The Birds”, in which birds begin to exterminate people.

On the other hand, Seligman’s theory of biological preparation states that humans are phylogenetically predisposed to associate certain types of stimuli with phobic responses. At the evolutionary level, many animals have posed a threat to survival, either by the possibility of attacking or transmitting disease.

Other zoophobias (animal phobias)

Extreme fear of animals is known as “zoophobia” . This term can be used to describe both a specific phobia of animals in general and as a category of disorders, equivalent to the type of animal described in the DSM.

Below we will mention the most frequent phobic stimuli within this set of animal fears, as well as the name used to designate them.

  • To dogs (cynophobia)
  • Cats (ailurophobia)
  • To rats, mice and other rodents (musophobia)
  • To insects (entomophobia); includes fear of bees (apiphobia), cockroaches (catsaridaphobia), and moths (moths)
  • To spiders (arachnophobia)
  • To snakes (ofidiofobia)
  • To frogs, toads and other amphibians (bufonophobia)
  • To worms (vermifobia)