Greater Honeyguide

birds · Africa · honey · guides

Honey-hunting guide. Greater honeyguides have an amazing habit of flying toward people and making loud calls to lead them to wild beehives. Once the person finds the hive and takes the honey, the bird gets to eat the leftover beeswax.

Woodpecker cousins. These birds belong to a special family called Indicatoridae, which is closely related to woodpeckers. They're found across Africa and Asia in warm, tropical areas.

Named for their gift. Both the bird's English name and its scientific name refer directly to its amazing ability to guide animals to honey. This makes it one of the few birds named specifically for what it does for other creatures.

Mystery about wild animals. While people definitely know that honeyguides guide humans to bee colonies, scientists aren't totally sure if these birds also guide wild animals like badgers or honey badgers to hives the same way.

Teamwork pays off. The partnership between honeyguides and people has been going on for thousands of years, especially with African honey-hunting cultures. Both the bird and the person benefit from working together.