Eavesdropping for Survival: How Prairie Dog Alarms Help Birds Stay Safe on the Plains

On the Great Plains, the prairie dog plays an unexpected role: neighborhood watch.

These chubby little mammals aren’t just digging burrows and nibbling grass — they’re also sounding the alarm whenever danger is near. And it turns out, they’re not just helping each other. A grassland bird, the long-billed curlew, has learned to eavesdrop on prairie dog warnings to dodge predators more effectively, according to a new study published in Animal Behaviour.

Nature’s Alarm System

“Prairie dogs are on the menu for just about every predator you can think of — golden eagles, hawks, foxes, badgers, even large snakes,” said Andy Boyce, a research ecologist with the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Those predators don’t discriminate. Ground-nesting birds like the long-billed curlew are also fair game. So curlews have developed a clever strategy: they listen in on prairie dog alarm calls.

Prairie dogs live in massive underground colonies and bark out different alerts depending on the threat — whether it’s swooping from above or stalking through the grass. These calls are loud enough to carry over long distances.

“When they hear those warning barks, curlews respond by crouching low, pressing their heads, beaks, and bellies to the ground,” explained study co-author Andrew Dreelin, also of the Smithsonian. “In that posture, their camouflage makes them almost invisible.”

A Clever Experiment

To test this behavior, researchers got creative. They mounted a taxidermied badger — a known curlew predator — on a remote-controlled vehicle and drove it toward nesting sites in the short-grass prairie of north-central Montana. Sometimes, they played recordings of prairie dog alarm calls. Other times, the mechanical badger rolled in silently.

The difference was striking.

When prairie dog barks were played, curlews ducked down much earlier — when the predator was still about 160 feet (49 meters) away. Without the audio cue, they didn’t react until the badger was only 52 feet (16 meters) from their nests.

“You have a much higher chance of avoiding predation if you go into that cryptic posture sooner,” said co-author Holly Jones, a conservation biologist at Northern Illinois University. “And the birds do — when they hear prairie dogs barking.”

More Than Just Burrowers

Scientists have long known that birds eavesdrop on each other’s calls, especially for tips on food or danger. But examples of birds picking up cues from mammals? Those are far rarer.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s rare in nature,” said Emily Williams, an ornithologist at Georgetown University who wasn’t involved in the study. “It just means we haven’t studied it much yet.”

Beyond their role as “ecosystem engineers” — shaping grasslands with their burrows and grazing habits — prairie dogs are now being seen as critical information broadcasters within their environment.

“They’re not just changing the landscape,” said Jones. “They’re shaping how other animals behave by spreading information.”

Source: AP News – A grassland bird eavesdrops on prairie dog calls to keep itself safe from predators