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What Is The 'Bird Theory' Going Viral On TikTok? Here's Why People Are Saying 'I Saw a Bird Today' To Test Their Relationships
Just months after the "Orange Peel Theory" took off on TikTok, young women online have a new relationship litmus test, and this one might actually be backed by science.
The latest fixation is the so-called "Bird Theory" or the "Bird Test," in which women turn to their partners and say, with complete sincerity, "I saw a bird today."
Their boyfriend or husband's response, and whether they lean in with curiosity or brush off the remark, supposedly reveals how emotionally in tune the relationship is.
But where did this theory come from anyway, and what's the research backing it? Here's what you need to know.
What's The 'Bird Test' And How Did It First Come Up Online?
TikToker @alyssacardib first introduced the Bird Test in a viral October 27th, 2023, video in which she explained that when one partner points out something seemingly insignificant, like spotting a bird outside, their partner's reaction can reveal a lot about the couple.
Do they engage and show curiosity, do they disregard the non-sequitor, or do they grow irritable at the prompt? A positive response, she argued, signals attentiveness and mutual investment. If they shrug it off, maybe less so.
@alyssacardib Bird test
Alyssa said she's applied the test beyond dating, recalling a moment when she and a new friend ended up in a 10-minute conversation about a woodpecker, and the minor exchange apparently sparked a lasting close friendship between the two.
Her video has since earned over 600,000 likes and thousands of comments, and others online have tested the theory themselves, including former The Bachelor contestant Michelle Young.
@michelleyoung Will this man pass? 😭 #birdtest #relationships ♬ original sound – Michelle Young
Alyssa's idea echoes a study published by the Gottman Institute that talks about "Bid Theory," which makes one wonder if the "bird" was just a misreading of this concept.
In the Institute's long-term relationship studies, couples who "turn toward" each other's bids for attention, no matter how trivial, tend to stay together.
A bid could be anything from a question to a casual observation like "look at that bird" to "I had a good day today." According to the Gottman Institute, happy couples respond to these small overtures 86 percent of the time, while divorced couples only manage 33 percent.
The Bird Test is basically an internet-friendly version of this study.
How Did The 'Bird Test' Initially Spread Online?
The Bird Test quickly became TikTok's trending relationship barometer in 2023, with the site SimplyPsychology publishing an article on November 27th of that year, titled, "Can The Viral 'Bird Test' Really Predict Relationship Satisfaction?"
The piece confirmed that Caribardi's approach "aligns with what psychologist John Gottman calls 'bids for emotional connection.'"
By late 2024, the Bird Theory came full circle. On December 26th, 2024, Yale professor and psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos discussed the trend in a video for her podcast The Happiness Lab, interviewing Dr. John Gottman himself.
The clip, which drew over 12,800 views in 10 months, saw Gottman affirming his belief that even this simplified form of his institute's study could help one gauge the health of their relationship, although it shouldn't be considered a foolproof, one-time "test."
How Did The 'Bird Test' Become The 'Bird Theory'?
In October 2025, the Bird Test reemerged as the "Bird Theory," with TikTok getting overrun with women recording their boyfriends' reactions to the prompt "I saw a bird today."
On October 19th, 2025, TikTok user @royjeebiv posted a clip in which she walks up to her boyfriend washing dishes, and tells him she saw a bird. His curious and kind reaction was exactly as she hoped, and the post earned the post over 4 million views and 300,000 likes over the last 10 days.
The next day, @donnyandserenity uploaded her own version, showing her boyfriend repeatedly asking, "Where?" while laughing, which racked up 5 million views and 700,000 likes in just 10 days.
@royjeebiv He reacted EXACTLY how I thought he would ☺️ #birdtest #birdsofafeather ♬ original sound – madi
@donnyandserenity You just never know with this man🤦🏾♀️😂 #foryou #relatable #comedy #thebirdtheory #donnyandserenity ♬ original sound – Donny and Serenity
However, not every experiment ended well.
On October 24th, TikToker @chrisxkeara shared a video that turned out to be a pretty obvious joke in which her boyfriend responds to the bird comment by snapping, "This is why I cheated on you." The dark humor resonated with (or horrified) over 2 million viewers.
@chrisxkeara Bro😭
The videos also veered off into the weird, as seen in an October 25th post by TikToker @lesleemarler, where she tells her boyfriend she'd seen a bird, only for him to counter with, "Birds aren't spies," referencing the humorous Birds Aren’t Real conspiracy theory.
That post reached 3 million views and 500,000 likes in four days, as the trend has continued spreading online.
@lesleemarler This did NOT go how I thought it would 😭 @Cody Marler ♬ original sound – Leslee Marler
For the full history of the Bird Theory be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
