Anthropogenic noise can adversely impact urban bird populations by interfering with vocal communication. Less research has addressed if anthropogenic noise masks the adventitious sounds that birds use to aid predator detection, which may lead to increased vigilance and reduced feeding efficiency. We test this hypothesis using a controlled playback experiment along an urban–rural gradient in Sheffield (UK). We also test the related predictions that anthropogenic noise has the greatest impacts on vigilance and feeding efficiency in rural populations, and on species that are more sensitive to urbanisation. We focus on six passerines, in order from most to least urbanised (based on how urbanisation influences population densities): blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus, robin Erithacus rubeculla, great tit Parus major, chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, coal tit Periparus ater and nuthatch Sitta europaea. We used play‐back of anthropogenic urban noise and a control treatment at 46 feeding stations located along the urban–rural gradient. We assess impacts on willingness to visit feeders, feeding and vigilance rates. Exposure to anthropogenic noise reduced visit rates to supplementary feeding stations, reduced feeding rates and increased vigilance. Birds at more urban sites exhibit less marked treatment induced reductions in feeding rates, suggesting that urban populations may be partially habituated or adapted to noisy environments. There was no evidence, however, that more urbanised species were less sensitive to the impacts of noise on any response variable. Our results support the adventitious sound masking hypothesis. Urban noise may thus interfere with the ability of birds to detect predators, reducing their willingness to use food rich environments and increase vigilance rates resulting in reduced feeding rates. These adverse impacts may compromise the quality of otherwise suitable foraging habitats in noisy urban areas. They are likely to be widespread as they arise in a range of species including common urban birds.

中文翻译：

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人为噪声降低了鸟类的饲喂效率，并增加了城乡梯度的警惕性，无论物种对城市化的容忍度如何

人为噪声会干扰人声交流，从而对城市鸟类造成不利影响。如果人为噪声掩盖了鸟类用来协助捕食者的不定声音，则很少有研究解决，这可能导致提高警惕并降低饲养效率。我们使用沿着谢菲尔德（英国）的城乡梯度进行的受控回放实验来检验该假设。我们还测试了有关人为噪声对农村人口的警惕性和进食效率以及对城市化更敏感的物种的影响最大的相关预测。我们按从最高到最不城市化的顺序（从城市化程度对人口密度的影响）出发，重点关注六个雀形目：蓝雀Cyanistes caeruleus，罗宾Erithacus rubeculla，大山雀Parus major，燕雀Fringilla coelebs ，煤炭山雀Periparus ater和五子雀Sitta europaea。我们使用了人为的城市噪声回放，并在沿城乡梯度的46个饲喂站进行了控制处理。我们评估对拜访喂食者的意愿，喂食和警惕率的影响。暴露于人为噪声会降低对辅助喂养站的访问率，降低喂养率并提高警惕。在更多城市地点的鸟类表现出较少的显着治疗引起的进食速度下降，这表明城市人口可能已部分适应或适应嘈杂的环境。但是，没有证据表明，更多城市化物种对噪声对任何响应变量的影响不那么敏感。我们的结果支持不定音掩蔽假设。因此，城市噪音可能会干扰鸟类发现天敌的能力，降低他们使用食物丰富的环境的意愿，提高警惕率，导致进食率降低。这些不利影响可能会影响嘈杂的城市地区原本适合觅食的栖息地的质量。它们可能会广泛出现，因为它们出现在包括普通城市鸟类在内的各种物种中。