Summary The trick is used by the brown thornbill, to scare off its much larger enemy.
PARIS (AFP) - A bird weighing just two teaspoons of sugar scares off a predator 40 times its size by imitating the "hawk alarm" of other species, scientists said Wednesday.
The trick is used by the brown thornbill, one of Australia s tiniest birds, to scare off its much larger enemy, the pied currawong, they reported in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The eight-gram (2.8 ounce) tiddler artfully copies the warning cry used by other bird species against attack by the goshawk -- a predator even bigger and scarier than the currawong.
This distracts the currawong, fearing a hawk attack may be imminent, and gives the thornbill s nestlings enough time to take shelter.
Mimicry is a common defence in nature, but the researchers were stunned at how effective this tactic is. They stumbled upon the trick during an experiment on birds reaction to a stuffed owl.
"It s very cunning," said Branislav Igic, who conducted the study at the Australian National University.
"It s not superbly accurate mimicry, but it s enough to fool the predator.
"A physical attack on a currawong would be no good. They are 40 times the size of a thornbill and will eat adults as well as nestlings."
