http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3526867.stm
Wednesday, 3 March, 2004, 06:51 GMT
Birds 'heed monkey warnings'
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.
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