Study
Honeyguides and honey gatherers: interspecific communication in a symbiotic relationship
Isack, H. A.; Reyer, H.-U.
Science, 1989
Honey-gathering trips by Boran people were recorded with and without a guiding honeyguide, measuring search time and success, and the birds’ flight direction and perch height were related to the position of the nest they led towards.
- Studied in
- Indicator indicator
- Sample size
- guided searches recorded with and without a following bird
Searches accompanied by a honeyguide located nests substantially faster than searches without one, and features of the bird’s behaviour — including flight direction and perch height — corresponded to direction and distance to the nest.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
The birds actively guide human honey-gatherers, and their behaviour conveys usable information about where the nest is.
How NatureHQ reads it
The measurement that moved this from traveller’s tale to documented fact. Two things make it convincing: the time saving is large and quantified against unguided searches, and the birds’ behaviour varies with the nest’s position rather than being a fixed display.
- Observational fieldwork with one community and one region.
- Whether the birds intend to inform is not addressed, and cannot be settled by behaviour alone.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: American Association for the Advancement of SciencePublished in Science or Science Advances (AAAS).
doi.org/10.1126/science.243.4896.1343
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.