The PhD dissertation aims to examine how humans and birds considered problematic coexist within urban spaces. Urban biodiversity emerges as a crucial component in the co-construction of urban environments. However, urban fauna—such as the rook (Corvus frugilegus), the carrion crow (Corvus corone), and the feral pigeon (Columba livia domestica)—can cause difficulties for city dwellers who share their living spaces with them. In response, human managers implement various management practices intended to improve the daily lives of urban residents while making room for the non-human inhabitants that have chosen the city as their habitat.

The thesis draws on approaches from animal geography, environmental anthropology, and ethno-ethology to explore the conditions under which certain species become deemed undesirable in urban contexts. It seeks to describe how these birds occupy and invest in urban space, to identify behaviors perceived as problematic, and to analyze the dynamic relationships and reciprocal influences between human and animal behaviors that shape the socio-ecosystem of the city.

The research will focus on two field sites, examining how urban managers and residents relate to "problematic" birds more broadly. Three species will be studied in greater detail: the rook and the pigeon in French-speaking Switzerland, and the carrion crow in Paris.