Cooperation and communication between humans and wild animals is vanishingly rare. Yet probably for at least as long as we’ve been human, wax-eating African birds called greater honeyguides have led people to honey. Honeyguides exchange their superior knowledge of where bees’ nests are located, for humans’ unique abilities to use smoke and tools to subdue the bees and open their nest. Cooperation thus yields wax for the honeyguides and honey for the humans. During a cooperative honey-hunt, honeyguides signal to humans using a distinctive guiding call, and in return people signal to honeyguides using specialised honey-hunting calls that vary culturally across Africa. Over the last decade, we have studied this mosaic of entwined species and cultures in collaboration with honey-hunting communities in Mozambique, Zambia and elsewhere in Africa. In this talk, Prof Spottiswoode will share some of her findings together on how the honeyguide-human partnership functions, how it may have shaped the ecosystems we evolved in, and what it might be able to teach us about communication and the coevolution of cultures across species.

Meet up time is 9am at Combe Gate SP426157 Parking available along the approach road from Combe Transfers from/to Hanborough rail station available upon request Walk will cover New Park, Great Park and Blenheim Park as well as Queen Pool and The Lake. Contact: outings@oos.org.uk