Since the 1970s, avian populations have decreased by about 29% in North America, sparking concerns about their continued survival. Birds are essential to ecosystems for seed dispersal and fertilization, insect and rodent control, and as a food source, yet people often under-value them. Research increasingly shows that human empathy is essential to the sustainability of species. Past work indicates that animal photo portraiture can activate empathy, but researchers have primarily focused on charismatic mammals and have poorly measured empathy for others, especially birds. We extend this research by creating the Empathy for Animals Scale (EAS) and conducting an online survey experiment with 793 people from the United States to examine whether bird photo portraiture activates empathy for birds in the same way it does for mammals. We find that bird photo portraiture, compared to traditional wildlife images, more effectively activates empathy for birds and enhances people’s perception of animals in general. Our findings have important implications for avian conservation and sustainability, potentially helping photographers, organizations, and scholars address public perceptions in promoting the sustainability of birds.