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The effects of human disturbance in urban parks of Madrid (Spain) on bird tolerance were studied to derive recommendations for urban park planning. We intended to determine (1) how habitat structure influenced flush distances, (2) whether flush distance increased with body-size, and (3) whether flush distances varied with the amount of people visiting the park. In four city parks in Madrid with different levels of human visitation and habitat structure, we recorded flush distances of four bird species of different sizes (overall body length: Passer domesticus, 15 cm; Turdus merula, 24–25 cm; Columba palumbus, 40–42 cm; Pica pica, 44–48 cm). Humans approached individual birds when they were foraging on the ground. Habitat structure (shrub cover, shrub and tree height) influenced flush distances of the four species. After controlling for the effects of different microhabitat use, averaged flush distances varied …