Deep in parts of Africa, people searching for wild honey have an unusual partner: a small bird that can actually lead them to hidden bees’ nests.
The greater honeyguide (Indicator indicator) has developed a remarkable relationship with human honey-hunters.
The bird calls to attract people’s attention. It then flies from tree to tree, guiding them towards a bees’ nest. Research has shown that humans can even communicate back using special calls. Cambridge Üniversitesi
Why does the honeyguide help humans?
The partnership benefits both sides.
Greater honeyguides eat beeswax. However, reaching wax inside a wild bees’ nest can be difficult.
Humans can use smoke and tools to access the nest. They collect the honey, while wax left behind becomes available to the bird.
In other words, the bird is good at finding the nest, while humans are good at opening it. Cambridge Üniversitesi
This makes the relationship a rare example of cooperation between humans and a free-living wild animal.
Humans actually ‘talk’ to the birds
The story becomes even more remarkable in northern Mozambique.
Yao honey-hunters traditionally use a distinctive sound to call honeyguides. It consists of a trill followed by a grunt, often written as “brrr-hm”.
Researchers tested whether the birds actually understood the signal.
They found that using the traditional call increased the chance of being guided by a honeyguide from about 33% to 66%.
The chance of ultimately being shown a bees’ nest rose from roughly 17% to 54%. Cambridge Üniversitesi
Different communities use different calls
There is another fascinating twist.
Honey-hunters do not use the same signal everywhere.
Yao hunters in Mozambique use their trill-and-grunt call. Hadza honey-hunters in Tanzania use a melodic whistle.
Research published in 2023 found that honeyguides recognise these local traditions.
Birds responded more strongly to the calls traditionally used by people in their own area than to calls from elsewhere. Cambridge Üniversitesi
That means communication between humans and honeyguides can vary from one African community to another.
A partnership stretching back generations
This relationship is not a modern discovery.
A written account from what is now Mozambique described honeyguides leading people towards bees’ nests as early as 1588.
Scientists believe the cooperation itself could be much older. Cambridge Üniversitesi
Unlike a dog or another domesticated animal, the honeyguide has not been trained by an owner.
It remains completely wild.
Yet humans and birds have learned to read each other’s signals and work towards the same goal: honey for people and wax for the bird.
It is one of Africa’s most extraordinary examples of communication between humans and wildlife.