New study finds birds give people as much happiness as money

I can guarantee you that if I were paid in birds, rather than money, all it would give me is rage.

Obvious snark aside, this isn't really saying anything profound or unexpected. Money solves certain problems. Relaxing things like observing nature solve other problems. The click-bait framing of the information is absurd (and intentionally so), but nothing controversial is being said here. I'm sure people DO enjoy nature, once their basic needs are met and they have a bit of financial security.

One of my first purchases with the first $1,200 stimulus check last year was birdseed.

The thing is, I used a debit card linked to my name. An hour or so later, I was on (redacted) and my post to an image board was greeted with an image meme making fun of birdseed purchases. It was almost certainly auto-generated. For add'l context, the site was located overseas, so it fell under jurisdiction of our intel agencies.

It's difficult enough to be happy while destitute and homeless, but you should never mess with a man's birdseed. He might get rowdy and cause a commotion, make you regret interfering with his ornithological aspirations.

    “who live in near-natural surroundings that are home to many species.”

Yea I’d be pretty happy if I could live in a spot like that.

Did a bird write this study?