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[Carrie McLaren <carrie AT stayfreemagazine.org>]

Last Updated: Wednesday, 3 March, 2004, 06:51 GMT

Birds 'heed monkey warnings'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3526867.stm

Birds are capable of recognising warning calls 
from other species, according to scientists.

University of St Andrews experts claim certain 
species are able to tell one warning call from 
another, ignoring those which do not concern them.

A study found that the wild hornbill and the 
Diana monkey warned each other of predators 
nearby in their shared West African habitat.

It is thought to be the first time any such relationship has been observed.

Biologists Hugo Rainey, Professor Peter Slater 
and primatologist Dr Klaus Zuberbühler spent 18 
months studying the animals.

Look-outs

Diana monkeys are a brightly coloured, extremely 
observant species and are excellent look-outs for 
predators.

The scientists noticed the hornbills were often 
present in their vicinity when they studied the 
monkeys' alarm calls.

The duo share a predator - the crowned eagle - 
and it was found the birds only responded to the 
monkeys' specific warnings for the eagles.

"We presume the hornbills did not respond to the 
Diana monkey's warning call about the leopard 
because the leopard is not a threat to them," 
explained Mr Rainey.

"This demonstrates how capable birds are of 
obtaining relevant information about predators 
from the calls of other species."

The hornbills responded by increasing the number 
of calls they made when the eagles were present 
which are thought likely to act as a warning to 
fellow hornbills.

Some mammals can distinguish between and respond 
appropriately to the alarm calls of other mammal 
and bird species.

However, the ability of birds to distinguish 
between mammal alarm calls had not been 
previously investigated.

The paper will be published in the April edition 
of Proceedings of the Royal Society.



--
Carrie McLaren
Editor, Stay Free!
www.stayfreemagazine.org
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