"Winter months are dreary in New York City, but perhaps none so much as January 2021. Cold air and gray clouds blew between the skyscrapers as the world below remained stuck in the pandemic's icy grip. But that month, a small corner of the city briefly came alive when a majestic Snowy Owl appeared in Central Park. Bird fanatics and dozens of other intrigued New Yorkers ventured out of their homes, hoping to catch a glimpse."
"Google search data, which is available through the company's Google Trends database, can show us which birds capture our attention. Google Trends categorizes search terms based on their meaning. For instance, cardinals, orioles, ducks and falcons could refer to either sports teams or birds, but Google generally distinguishes between the helmeted kind and the winged kind. (This story will point out the rare instances when meanings get muddled.)"
January 2021 featured a Snowy Owl in Central Park that drew birders and curious New Yorkers outdoors and produced a sharp local spike in Google searches. Google Trends data can identify which bird species capture public interest and can disambiguate terms that have both sports and bird meanings. Interactive graphics include roughly 700 North American and Hawaiian species and examine why certain birds inspire fascination. Search trends reveal patterns of human attention toward wildlife and show how rare or charismatic sightings can prompt learning and communal interest in a species.
Read at Visual Cinnamon
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