Animal communication: Quick Facts

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Animals communicate by sending and receiving signals. For example, a mother dingo (Canis lupus dingo) can communicate certain types of information to her pups by using tactile signals conveyed through grooming.

Cactus wrens (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) sing to communicate with other members of their species.

Wolves are social animals, and they thus require a large repertoire of signals to communicate different kinds of information.

Blue arrow-poison frogs (Dendrobates azureus) can communicate through sound production. Their bright colour also serves as a warning signal to predators.

Closeup of a female fork-tailed bush katydid, Scudderia furcata, showing its long antennae and curved ovipositor, perched on a piece of weathered wood.

Bats have special resonating structures attached to their sound-producing organs that select specific sound frequencies. This enables them to use different sound signals in different contexts.

Common Eastern firefly (Photinus) with a black body, yellow-edged wing covers, and a reddish area behind its head, perched on a green blade of grass.

African elephant (Loxodonta africana) standing on grassy plain with distant trees and hills in Amboseli National Park, Kenya.

Crystal jellyfish, Aequorea victoria, float against a black background, their translucent bells showing glowing radial canals and long trailing tentacles.

Observe an impala herd communicate via grooming, freezing reflexes, prancing, and sprinting

Observe the aggressive social behavior of territorial perciform jawfish fighting over burrow proximity

How do cicadas inspire new forms of music?

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Karl von Frisch

Austrian zoologist