This is bird note. A sun-drenched morning in Kenya. A sharp chattering penetrates the quiet.

It's the call of a greater honey guide.

The small bird flares its tail as it chatters, flashing white spots like a semaphore.

Surprisingly, the honey guide's demanding call is not aimed at a member of its own species.

The Honey Guide, true to its name, uses its calls to guide people who are in search of honey directly to bee hives.

A man follows the honey guides calls through the forest.

Before long, the bird flies upward, toward a colony of bees living in a hollow tree.

The man subdues the bees with smoke.

Then exposing the hive with an axe, he takes much of the honeycomb

the honeycomb the honey guide a bird that knew where the hive was

but couldn't get at the hive without human help

now moves into feast on bee larvae and bees wax. But how does the honey guide know when humans wish to find honey?

In northern Kenya, the Samburu people will first call out to attract the honey guide.

The bird arrives to the human summons,

and the teamwork begins.

Some believe the honey guide's unique behavior evolved long ago, in conjunction with early humans.

However deep the connection, the Honey Guide's story is a remarkable example of cooperative behavior between birds and humans.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.