Animal communication

Animal communication is the way animals share information with each other, which can change how others act. This sharing can happen on purpose, like when animals show off to attract a mate, or by accident, such as when a predator leaves a scent that alerts its prey. This important topic is studied in fields like animal behavior, sociology, neurology, and animal cognition. Researchers are discovering new things about how animals use symbols, show emotions, learn, and interact in many ways.

When the information shared causes a change in behavior, it is called a signal. For these signals to continue within a group, both the animal sending the signal and the one receiving it usually benefit. The way signals are made and how they are understood develop together over time. Often, signals use more than one way to communicate, like both sight and sound, and understanding them requires looking closely at both the sender and the receiver.

Animal languages

Animals make sounds to share information about their feelings and needs. Some animals have even learned basic parts of human languages. They can also use special skills like electrolocation and echolocation to talk about things such as prey and where they are.

Modes

Animals use many different ways to communicate with each other. They can send messages using their bodies, sounds, smells, and even electricity!

Visual

Animals often use body movements or parts to send messages. For example, a parent herring gull shows its bright yellow bill to its chick when it returns with food. The chick taps the red spot on the bill to ask for food. Bonobos and chimps also use gestures to communicate, just like humans.

Some animals change their colors to send signals. Octopuses and cuttlefish can change their skin color quickly to hide, find mates, or scare away predators. Birds like Blue and Yellow Macaws show emotions through facial expressions.

Auditory

Many animals make sounds to talk to each other. Frogs, humpback whales, and songbirds all make calls for different reasons, like finding mates or warning others of danger. Some insects, like crickets, rub their legs together to make sounds. Prairie dogs have a very complex system of calls to describe dangers, including the type, size, and speed of an approaching threat.

Olfactory

Smells are another way animals communicate. For example, wolves mark their territory with scent during the breeding season. Fish like Atlantic salmon can detect chemicals released by injured members of their group and respond accordingly.

Electric

Some animals, mostly fish, use electric signals to talk. Weakly electric fishes create electric fields to share information about their species, sex, and identity with others.

Touch

Touch is important for many animals. It can be used in fights, during mating, or to strengthen social bonds. For example, animals often groom each other to show friendship and remove parasites.

Seismic

Some animals send messages by creating vibrations in the ground or water. Frogs and bees use this form of communication to share information.

Thermal

Certain snakes can sense heat to find prey or regulate their body temperature. These snakes have special pits on their faces that detect infrared radiation, helping them "see" warm objects in the dark.

Autocommunication

Autocommunication is a special way animals send messages to themselves. They send out a signal, like a sound or electricity, and then sense how it changes when it comes back. This helps them learn about food, dangers, or other animals nearby.

Some fish, like electric fishes, use electricity to feel their way around, while bats and toothed whales use sounds, called echolocation, to "see" with their ears and find their way in the dark.

Functions

Animals communicate for many important reasons. One key function is during contests over resources like food or mates, where signals show aggression or willingness to retreat. Another important function is in mating rituals, where animals use special displays, sounds, or smells to attract a mate or strengthen pair bonds. For example, birds of paradise have dazzling courtship dances, and geese show triumph displays to their partners.

Animals also use signals to claim or defend territories, and some will even redirect aggression by attacking nearby animals when scared. Food-related signals help guide others to food sources—like the famous waggle dance of honeybees. Alarm calls warn others of danger, helping the group respond quickly. Finally, some signals change the meaning of later actions, such as a dog’s “play face,” which shows that rough play is just fun and not a real fight.

Main articles: Mating, pair bonds, Redirected aggression, Waggle dance, Alarm calls, Meta-communication

Interpretation of animal behaviour

Animal signals can be easy to see but hard to understand. It’s tempting to think of animals, especially pets and apes, using human feelings to explain their actions, but this can be wrong. For example, when an ape “smiles,” it might really be showing anger. The same action can mean different things depending on what’s happening around it.

For instance, a dog’s tail wag or posture can change meaning in different situations. In a book called The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals from 1872 by Charles Darwin, he showed how dogs use their bodies to show many different feelings. Some of his pictures include a small dog watching a cat, a dog approaching another in a fighting way, and a dog showing affection to its owner.

Interspecific communication

Main article: Interspecies communication

Many animals communicate with others of different species. For example, prey animals often send signals to warn predators. Bright colors in wasps or mimicry in hoverflies can scare away predators. Animals like wolves and rattlesnakes also show behaviors to warn predators of their defenses.

Predators sometimes use tricks to catch prey. The angler fish uses a glowing lure to attract smaller fish, while some spiders mimic ants to get closer to their prey. Humans also communicate with animals, and understanding these signals is important for their care. Dogs, for example, understand pointing as a signal to a place rather than an object.

Other aspects

Animals have developed many ways to communicate, which is very important for their survival. Some animals have special body parts or behaviors just for communicating. For example, the peacock has a beautiful tail, and cranes dance to show off. Birds like European herring gull even have a special red spot on their beaks to help them talk to each other.

Scientists study how these communication methods evolved. They look at how animals might have started with simple movements or body parts and slowly developed them into more complex signals. For instance, some birds use beak-wiping as a simple action, but in certain species, this turned into a special way to attract mates. Communication can be very important for animals, and it often involves both the sender and the receiver benefiting from the exchange.

Main article: Signalling theory

Scientists also study how animals understand each other. Some animals, like vervet monkeys, use different alarm calls for different dangers and understand what these calls mean. Even bottlenose dolphins can recognize each other using special whistles, almost like using names. This shows that some animals have more complex ways of communicating than we might expect.

Main article: Animal language

Errors in communication

Sometimes, animals can make mistakes when they talk to each other. This can happen if they are far apart or if the message is very complicated. The animal receiving the message might not know where it is coming from, especially if the sender is trying to trick them. These tricks can cause more problems in understanding each other.