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On a recent morning, Shultz opened a wooden tray to reveal rows of house finches, a palm-sized bird commonly found in Los Angeles.

Their numbers, however, have increased significantly in proportion to the backyard bird feeders that support and contribute to their prey base, from hummingbirds to house finches.

A new study of house finches led by Marissa Langager, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science, uncovered a surprising result.

As a result, these areas have less bird biodiversity and larger populations of synanthropic birds — species adapted to dense urban environments such as house finches and sparrows, European starlings, common pigeons and northern mockingbirds.

As of this writing, it’s logged 194 house finch visits, 83 California towhee drop-bys, 5 squirrel sorties and a lone pine siskin pop in.