Abstract
This is a review of the urban birds of eastern Asia and of the United States comparing their modifications for city life which have made them successful in that environment. It compares the habitat use by 848 species in Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and United States as seen among 30 locations where more than a million birds were tallied from 1941 through 1988. Using a criterion that an urban bird species was one in which at least one-third of the population was found in city environs, 70 species fell into this category. Compared by 113 characteristics of bird bionomics these species had similarities which suggested that having or developing those characteristics enhanced their success as urban birds. These are listed.
