Humans are social creatures, we need other humans in order to have a normal functioning and healthy existence, but the friendships that exist between humans and the friendships that exist between animals aren’t the same. Some animals are able to have acquaintances but not many are able to have friends. Some examples of animals that have friends include members of the horse family, elephants, higher primates, camelids and cetaceans. But what about birds? Do birds have friends?

Birds in fact do have friends. Birds make friends with other birds to create a network of sorts. This helps them communicate things to each other and thus helps these tiny creatures stay alive. The types of birds that have friends are birds that are social birds that belong to a large family.

Do birds have friends?

Yes, birds have friends. But the style of relationship that exists between bird friends is quite different from the one that exists between human buddies. In the wild, social birds usually form a close friendship with other birds for support – to have someone to communicate with and, most importantly, stay alive.

Friendship amongst birds generally exists among social birds belonging to a large family. They look out for one another and will mourn if a bird from their group dies. It’s also possible to see two birds of different species becoming friends – this happens most of the time between pet birds living in the same home.

Birds like owls, eagles, and hawks are solitary, so you’ll never find them entering into a relationship with other birds, except during mating season. 

Do birds hang out together?

The old saying “birds of a feather flock together” is totally true among most bird species. Birds like starlings, pigeons, flamingos, robins, blackbirds, cranes, shorebirds, geese, and vulturine guinea fowl fly and hang out together for safety reasons. These creatures know there’s safety in numbers, so they try to stay close to each other. 

While predators like cats, raccoons, or foxes might find it easy to catch a solitary bird, they wouldn’t stand a chance against a flock of 100 birds or more. On countless occasions, flocks of birds have been recorded attacking and even scaring away predators.

Can birds make enemies of each other?

The word here isn’t really enemies but rivals or predator and prey. In the wild, birds fight for food, territory, and the right to mate. So if a particular bird sees another bird trying to claim its food, territory, nesting site, or mate, it will attack and sometimes even fight the trespassing bird to the death.

In the case of predator and prey, small birds that get preyed on by raptors tend to picture those large birds as their enemies. So when, for example, a songbird sees a hawk, falcon, or even an eagle perched in a tree within its territory, it calls out to other birds, and they come together as a group to chase the menacing bird out.

Do birds recognize each other?

Yes, birds recognize each other. If that wasn’t the case, it would be totally impossible for them to tell their mates from other birds. Social birds that flock together like pigeons, geese, cranes, jays, and crows are known to recognize members of their flock by the calls or voices they make. Songbirds also identify familiar members of their species by the song each bird sings.

Do birds communicate with each other?

Birds communicate by either chirping or squawking. While most humans see the sound birds make as nothing but senseless noise, birds make those sounds to convey a vital message to other birds in the vicinity. If you’ve ever raised chickens, you know these birds communicate with each other all the time.

In the wild, birds communicate in the form of call notes. There are call notes to warn other birds of an approaching predator, and there are different call notes for:

• Claiming a territory
• Telling other birds of a food source
• Attracting and impressing a mate
• Identifying family members

Conclusion

In conclusion, yes certain types of birds have friends. These friendships aren’t the same as human friendships but rather friendships that help the birds stay alive.

Birds that can make friends include social birds that belong to large families. These birds will hang around each other for safety reasons. They still compete for territory, mates and food none the less. They also recognise and communicate with each other.

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Can birds move their babies? Can birds eat hemp seeds? How do birds show affection to humans? How to know if a bird egg is alive? What do birds do with unhatched eggs? Do penguins bury their dead?