More Birds Make You As Happy As More Money

Conservation of nature is as important for human happiness and well-being as financial security.

A bluebird of happiness. Adult male mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides, a species of migratory songbird endemic to mountainous regions of the western United States. (Credit: Sunny / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery – air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, “This is what it is to be happy.”

— Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

There is growing evidence that exposure to nature, particularly for those who live in urban areas, is essential to human happiness and well-being. But what precisely is it about nature that is essential for happiness: is it the presence of trees? proximity to a body of water? or is it the diversity of birds?