Not So Sweet & Innocent THE LESSER HONEYGUIDE

By: Anneline Ferreira

The mere name may conjure up images of some sweet, innocent bird hiding in the forest, ready to lead us to a bees nest in the wild. But the Lesser Honeyguide harbours some dark secrets.

A polygynous brood parasite, meaning it lays its eggs in a host's nest, it favours that of hole nest species like barbets, but will also lay eggs in bee-eater, kingfisher and starling nests. When laying in the host's nest, the female will commonly break the host's eggs to ensure that her offspring get the best attention. The host, thinking that the egg is its own, then incubates the egg and cares for the chick.

The honeyguide chick in turn has a hook on its bill to kill any of the host's chicks that may be hatching at the same time – viciously, some sources say! - with extraordinary strength.

A small, inconspicuous bird, the Lesser Honeyguide is not much to look at, especially since they are mostly observed high up in a tree, but they remain on a list of very special birds to tick. Their status says Common Resident, but they don't appear just up any tree. Found in woodland, riverine forest and forest edges, their range in the Western Cape has increased because of larger barbet populations caused by the spread of alien trees.

One of the few birds that can digest wax, the honeyguide feeds mainly on beeswax and the other components of a honeybee colony, including the eggs, larvae, pupae and bees. Highly adept at finding dry honeycombs, they'll eat anything that comes close to that habitat.

They know that bees are lethargic in the early morning, and that's when they will take advantage to feed at an active nest. Hives that have been abandoned, disturbed or robbed by humans or animals are another prime target.

Unlike other honeyguides like the Greater Honeyguide (Indicator indicator) and despite its name, the Lesser Honeyguide (Indicator minor) does not lead mammals to bees nests.

Honeyguides have been spotted around Stanford, but for an opportunity to also find the uncommon Brown-backed Honeybird, head to the trees in Van der Stel Pass north of Bot River - a special route where we have been lucky.