Researchers from Charles Darwin University in Australia have found that ordinarily territorial birds are forming alliances with other bird species to access water sources safely.
While heartwarming, it's an example of how our warming planet is changing animal behavior.
What's happening?
Per a CDU news release, white-plumed honeyeaters — which normally aren't too keen on sharing limited food and water — have started befriending other birds to locate increasingly scarce waterholes.
PhD student Simon Votto, who led research on the birds' unexpected behavior, explained that honeyeaters primarily rely on the water content from nectar for hydration rather than surface water.
However, once temperatures climbed above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), he observed the birds drinking from watering holes more often, but they always made sure to have companions around.
"I expected that in cases where water is limited during hot, dry summers, honeyeaters might try and defend those sites, but we actually found they would often go into waterholes with other birds," Votto said.
"One possible explanation for that is that they're doing it to reduce the risk of predation at the individual level by accessing drinking with other species — a number of times, I found honeyeaters waited until species like finches went in to drink, and they would follow them in."
Why does this matter?
The fact that white-plumed honeyeaters are becoming friendlier is a double-edged sword. While it's undoubtedly positive that finches and honeyeaters are teaming up to access critical water resources, it's also a sign that species are under more pressure because of the overheating planet.
And with record-warm temperatures being recorded across Australia even in the winter, it's leaving animals with little opportunity to catch a break.
Even though white-plumed honeyeaters are adaptable and can travel to suburban environments to find water during droughts if necessary, this increases their chances of run-ins with pets, such as dogs and cats, per Birds in Backyards.
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Definitely 👍 While the species isn't threatened by conflicts with humans, a lack of water in Africa has caused elephants, buffalo, wildebeests, and other large animals to venture toward human settlements in search of resources, revealing how rising temperatures are changing animal behavior worldwide.
What's being done to protect honeyeaters and other birds?
Associate Professor Christine Schlesinger, who supervised the study, explained that preserving waterholes, which Central Australian First Nations people have been doing for centuries, is essential for ecosystem health and wildlife.
"Maintaining the health of these waterholes — work that is already of high priority across Indigenous Protected Areas — is critical, as is further research to inform management approaches," she told CDU.
"We know these sites provide critical access to water but we know relatively little about the behavioral adaptations and social dynamics of animals that rely on these resources, or about how these are changing with the climate."
Researchers said restoring watering sites that wild animals like camels have damaged would also support honeyeaters and other birds.
Meanwhile, humans have found innovative ways to conserve water during droughts. California is putting solar panels on irrigation canals, and many cities throughout the Western United States have installed water recycling systems.
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