Quand les mammifères et les oiseaux communiquent pour se protéger

Just as communication within a species can have multiple functions, the same is true for communication between species; interspecies communication is possible, so long as two interacting species use the same general mode of communication, such as auditory, and overlap in the range of signals they can perceive. Functions for such communication include evading predators, capturing prey, cooperating with or cheating off of competitors, forming partnerships with the enemy of an enemy (cross-trophic alliances), and receiving predator information from members of the same prey guild.
Recent research has documented several examples of responses to heterospecific alarm signals in both aquatic and terrestrial realms; of particular interest are cases of alarm communication between very distantly related species, as between birds and mammals. In his thesis, Joshua Shipp, student at the California State University, sought to investigate such bird-mammal alarm communication between the California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi) and four sympatric bird species, the broadest ever demonstrated.