Honeyguides Learn Local Human Calls to Aid Honey Hunting in Africa

Study reveals birds' ability to recognize and respond to culturally distinct signals, fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with human communities.

• Honeyguides, wild birds in Africa, lead humans to bee colonies, increasing honey-hunting success rates by 560% for the Hadza people of Tanzania.
• The birds learn and respond to distinct vocal signals used by different honey-hunting communities, such as the Hadza and the Yao of northern Mozambique.
• Researchers found honeyguides in Tanzania were three times more likely to respond to local Hadza calls than 'foreign' Yao calls, and those in Mozambique were twice as likely to respond to local Yao calls than Hadza whistles.
• The study suggests that the differences in honeyguide-attracting signals are not arbitrary, but practical, influenced by the hunting practices and environmental challenges of each community.
• The mutually beneficial relationship between humans and honeyguides has led to stable local traditions of human-bird communication over time.

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