Honeyguides are smallish “indicator” birds localized in African and Asian tropical forest land. Aggressive and crafty, the honeyguide is a fearsome survivor with nasty habits. Natural traits make the Honeyguide a fascinating avian study and birding goal for sighting. The honeyguide actually interacts and aids others to find the food they themselves want but can’t access. Piping peeps from the honeyguide render it to be noticed and found for mating or “guidance” tasks. Honeyguides leave the rearing of the young to other birds, dropping off eggs in nests of barbets, woodpeckers, kingfishers, warblers, swallows, and others। Honeyguide young may stab “foreign” eggs in the nest and thus are terms “parasitic” nesters. Immature honeyguides dominate adults, and these habits explain the wide diversity of African, Asian, Malaysian and other locales now hosting these birds in the wild. Honeyguides exist in many tropical forests where other avian life is found, for good reason.
The Honeyguide gets it name because it finds bee habitations, directs other animals there, and then feeds on beeswax, one of few birds known to do so. Many bushmen report traditions of using the honeyguides to find bee colonies and honoring the birds with the kill. Sadly, sugar production and industrial manufacture and distribution to cities and towns along these native ranges may exterminate the guiding behavior and food finding man-bird dual species partnership.
The outer white feathers of the Honeyguide attracts larger forest animals who know that the Honeyguide has the information about where the nearest bee buffet is located. Duller females and young colored in neutrals and dark brown protect their being “found” by interested predators and animals looking for “guidance”.
These birds get their species name (indicators) for their propensity to find bee colonies and get inside to find the waxy worm larvae to eat. Thus, other mammals can follow the Honeyguides to find the honey and bee extravaganzas. Honeyguides co-preditate on these bee colonies by standing by until the larger mammal has busted out the colony. In the melee of flying insects, escaping worker bees, frantic stings, and general chaos, Honeyguides step in and nab the waxy pupae goods.
Honeyguides snack on larval insects, worms, termites, and waxy secretions inside certain bugs and bees। But Honeyguides can also ingest insects, spiders and the odd fruit. The Honeyguides are typically yellow or buff colored, blending into variable forest scrub cover with neutral tones and accents in the feather plumage of wings and necks. Hunched over on a twig they are unnoticeable to casual predatory passersby. But fanning the tail gets them noticed by the right animals like badgers or humans hunting bee colonies.
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