Brood parasites – part 2

PHILIP VAN DEN BERG (U34) writes: Like the lesser honeyguide discussed in Brood parasites – part 1, the greater honeyguide is also a nesting parasite which  uses hole nesting species such as African hoopoes, barbets, kingfishers and starlings as hosts

The greater honeyguide

The photograph below shows the juvenile greater honeyguide with its foster parent, the Cape glossy starling

The host species are aware of the threat posed by the greater honeyguide and do their best to chase them away. However, when the opportunity arises, the greater honeyguide female secretly enters one of the nests and deposits a single egg. If she has time, she may puncture the hosts’ eggs to ensure that they do not hatch.

The young greater honeyguide already starts developing in the egg and hatches before the foster chicks. It is born with a sharp hooked bill which it uses to kill the hosts’ chicks.

The greater honeyguide is the only wild bird that has built up a relationship with human beings. It leads man by incessant calling, moving from perch to perch until it arrives at a bees’ nest, and then changes its call to announce the arrival at its destination.

This symbiotic relationship is to the advantage of both parties: man is shown where the nest is in order to obtain the honey, and the greater honeyguide feeds on the bee larvae and beeswax.

It is often said that the same mutually beneficial relationship exists between the greater honeyguide and the honey badger, but it has never been proven.