Share

Science analyses rare rapport between birds, people

Miami - For generations, people in Africa have partnered with wild birds called honeyguides to find bee hives and honey, and scientists said on Thursday they have analysed this rare rapport for the first time.

The bond has benefits for both - the humans subdue the bees with smoke and harvest the honey, while the birds eat the wax from the hive.

But just how this communication works took on a new dimension when scientists found that certain calls used by hunters from the local Yao community in Mozambique were far more likely to encourage birds to lead them to honey.

The birds themselves use certain calls to find humans, and when humans respond with a call that sounds like a loud trill followed by a short grunt, "brrr-hm", the birds were far more likely to lead them to honey than if the people responded with a simple word or another kind of bird's call.

"The traditional 'brrr-hm' call increased the probability of being guided by a honeyguide from 33% to 66%," said researcher Claire Spottiswoode of the University of Cambridge and the University of Cape Town.

"And the overall probability of being shown a bees' nest from 16% to 54% compared to the control sounds."

Honeyguides are found across sub-Saharan Africa, and depending on the area, people use different calls to recruit them.

The small brown birds also exploit other birds for their own gain. For instance, honeyguides lay their eggs in cuckoo nests. Within days of hatching, their young use sharp hooks on the end of their beaks to kill baby cuckoos so they can have the nest to themselves.

"The greater honeyguide is a master of deception and exploitation as well as cooperation - a proper Jekyll and Hyde of the bird world," said Spottiswoode.

"What's remarkable about the honeyguide-human relationship is that it involves free-living wild animals whose interactions with humans have probably evolved through natural selection, probably over the course of hundreds of thousands of years."

This partnership was first written down in 1588, when a Portuguese missionary, Joao dos Santos, saw a petite bird making its way into his church - in what is now Mozambique - to nibble on candles.

He also described how the bird led men to bee hives by calling and flying from tree to tree. Once the people harvested the honey, the bird fed on the wax.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 547 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 788 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.90
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.85
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.39
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.1%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE