Book 11, Question 84
Why Do Honeyguide Birds Lead People to Honey?
Honeyguide birds in Africa lead people to honey because both of them get a treat! The bird knows where wild bees' nests are, and people can open them. The bird eats the leftover wax, but you should never go near a wild bees' nest on your own.
More fun facts
- The greater honeyguide is a small brown bird in Africa that eats beeswax.
- A honeyguide gives a special call to get people's attention, then flies from tree to tree toward a bees' nest.
- People smoke out the bees and open the nest, taking the honey and leaving the wax for the bird.
- Yao honey hunters in Mozambique call the birds with a loud trill and a grunt that sounds like brrr-hm.
- In tests, that call doubled the chance of being guided by a honeyguide, from 33% to 66%.
- Hadza honey hunters in Tanzania use a whistle instead.
- A Portuguese missionary wrote about this teamwork as early as 1588.
Sources: cam.ac.uk
Questions kids ask
Is a honeyguide always so helpful?
No. Like a cuckoo, it lays its eggs in other birds' nests, and its chick kills its foster brothers and sisters.