The Honeyguide Bird: Africa’s Feathered Friend That Leads Humans to Honey
Most wild birds spend their days looking for seeds, worms, or unlucky insects. But in parts of Africa, one bird has a very unusual side hustle: leading humans to honey. Yes, really. The greater honeyguide is like nature’s tiny tour guide with a sweet tooth.
The bird shows up when people whistle, trill, or grunt (depending on the community), then flits ahead like it’s saying: “This way, buddy — I know a shortcut.” At the end of the trip awaits a tree stuffed with bees and honeycomb. Humans get the golden sweetness, and the bird gets its favorite snack: beeswax. Not a bad partnership!
Whistles vs. Trills
Here’s where it gets special. The Hadza in Tanzania call honeyguides with a special whistle: sharp and clear, passed down for generations. In Mozambique, the Yao do it differently, with a trill and a grunt.
Researchers recently wondered: are these birds just happy to follow any strange sound, or do they “speak local”? So they tested it, blasting recordings of the different calls in both countries.
In Tanzania, honeyguides came swooping in 82% of the time when they heard the Hadza whistle, but mostly ignored the Mozambican trill.
In Mozambique, the opposite happened — the birds perked up for the trill and shrugged off the whistle.
Turns out, honeyguides are loyal locals. They know their neighbors’ language and stick with it.
The Honey Heist in Action
Once the bird leads the way, the humans get busy. They light up bundles of smoking grass to calm the bees, hack into the hive, and scoop out glistening honeycomb. Meanwhile, the bird gets first dibs on the beeswax.
I can’t help but picture the honeyguide perched nearby, tapping its tiny foot impatiently like: “Hurry up, humans. I’ve got places to be, wax to eat.”
How to Talk to a Honeyguide (Without Sounding Ridiculous)
Okay, so maybe you’re not ready to launch a new career as a professional honey-hunter. But if you’re curious, here’s how different communities “chat” with their feathered guides:
Hadza (Tanzania): A sharp whistle. Imagine calling a dog, but with more purpose.
Yao (Mozambique): A trill followed by a grunt. Sort of like rolling an “r” and then giving your best “ugh.”
Eswatini: Less standardized, but kids often use playful whistles or sounds taught by elders.
👉 Pro tip: Don’t practice this in your backyard — unless you want the neighbors to wonder why you’re serenading the bushes
A Relationship Older Than Fire Drills
Scientists think this relationship may go back thousands, even millions, of years. Our ancestors had fire and tools to crack open hives; the birds knew where the hives were but couldn’t get inside. Teamwork was a win-win.
And it’s not just survival, it’s culture. Honey makes up to 10% of the Hadza diet. In Eswatini, kids still practice the honey-hunting calls as a tradition, even when there’s plenty of sugar in the kitchen. Imagine a childhood game where the prize isn’t candy but a bird-guided treasure hunt for wild honey.
Why It’s So Special
What makes this bond remarkable is that honeyguides aren’t trained. They’re not domesticated. They’re wild birds that somehow learn, over generations, to recognize human calls. It’s one of the rarest examples of cultural coevolution between humans and another species.
In a world where our relationship with wildlife is often about conflict, this one is just… sweet. Literally.
Safari Tip: Where to Witness Honeyguides in Action
If you’d like to see this quirky partnership for yourself, here are a few spots:
Lake Eyasi, Tanzania – Spend time with the Hadza, whose whistle still calls honeyguides out of the bush.
Niassa Special Reserve, Mozambique – The Yao trill-and-grunt is alive here, guiding people to hives hidden deep in the trees.
Eswatini’s rural hills – Honey-hunting has shifted into tradition, but kids still keep the calls alive.
👉 Travel tip: This isn’t something you try alone. Go with local guides who carry the knowledge (and the smoke bundles). You’ll walk away sticky, full, and amazed at the fact that a wild bird just helped you find dessert.
📚 Further Reading
Curious to dive deeper into the science behind this bird-human partnership? Check these out:
The honeyguide isn’t just another bird in the bush. It’s a reminder that our relationship with nature isn’t always about dominance — sometimes, it’s about partnership. Whistles and trills may sound funny to us, but to the honeyguide, they’re an invitation to work together.
Have you ever heard about this kind of human–animal cooperation before? What do you think — is it trust, instinct, or just a sweet deal for both sides? Drop a comment below — I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Who am I? Well, the least you can say is that I am quite crazy about Africa, its nature, its climate, its culture, and more.
As a young woman in my twenties, I had already traveled to several African countries by traveling along in an overlander on my own and mostly camping ( or glamping ) and just fell in love with the diversity of it all.
So much, so that at the age of 26, I went back to university to study biology, which, unfortunately, I couldn’t finish because of health reasons (yes, I got sick from a tropical disease, oh cynicism). But this did not stop my dream of traveling back to Africa several times, and I still do.
My dream was back then to leave Europe and go study animal behavior, especially the elephants (sure, that’s every girl’s dream haha), but I am also very much intrigued by hyenas and other “ugly African animals“.
So, I “kind of” have a little bit of a scientific approach to my articles, when I write about African birds, for example. And most of all: the passion.
But life goes on, you move from one side of the country to the other, you get sick again and top it off with lower back problems, and before you know it, you are over 50 hahaha!
Now, I still travel to Africa, but take it a bit “easier” than the good old camping days, and stay in comfortable, yet affordable accommodations, together with my husband Wouter.
These are some of the countries I have traveled to: Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Tunisia, and a little bit of Lesotho LOL .
While clearly not being African territory, but Spanish, I also visited Gran Canaria and Tenerife, and location-wise, I consider them “African”, because of their climate and nature, sue me :-p
The last trip I took was to South Africa in the year 2023, and it sure got the fevers for Africa back! From the Barberton mountains to the Drakensberg and the Southcoast, one month wasn’t enough at all to see the whole country, so we’ll be back! At ease and with a little bit more luxury than in my younger days haha!
