Deception by flexible alarm mimicry in an African bird
Drongos produce false alarm calls to steal food from meerkats
This research documented sophisticated acoustic deception in fork-tailed drongos, which mimic the alarm calls of meerkats and other species to steal food. Crucially, drongos vary which species' alarm they mimic to prevent targets from habituating - they maintain a 'library' of false alarms.
The study reveals a fundamental vulnerability in alarm systems: because the cost of ignoring a genuine alarm is potentially death, receivers must respond even knowing some alarms are false. For organizations, this explains why alarm fatigue is dangerous - too many false alarms train people to ignore all alarms, including real ones.
Key Findings from Flower et al. (2014)
- Drongos produce false alarm calls to steal food from meerkats
- They mimic alarm calls of multiple species, not just one
- Varying mimicry type prevents target habituation
- Alarm systems are exploitable because ignoring real alarms is too costly
- Drongos mimic alarm calls of multiple species to steal food
- Deception success depends on maintaining partial honesty
- Drongos switch alarm types to avoid habituation
- Frequency-dependent dynamics limit dishonest signaling
Used in 2 chapters
See how this research informs the book's frameworks:
Documented sophisticated deception where drongos mimic alarm calls and vary which species they mimic to prevent habituation.
See alarm system vulnerabilities →Study of drongos mimicking alarm calls to steal food, illustrating frequency-dependent dynamics in alarm honesty.
See alarm credibility dynamics →