AUTHOR=Freymann Elodie , Taylor Derry 

TITLE=Fire-crested alethes (Alethe castanea) follow humans and bushbuck in Uganda’s Budongo Forest

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bird Science

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bird-science/articles/10.3389/fbirs.2025.1677075

DOI=10.3389/fbirs.2025.1677075

ISSN=2813-3870

ABSTRACT=This report documents four observations of a novel foraging behavior in fire-crested alethes (Alethe castanea) in the Budongo Forest Reserve of Western Uganda, where the birds were observed following humans and bushbuck, likely to flush out insect prey, diverging from their typical ant-following strategy. These observations expand our understanding of commensal relationships in tropical forest ecosystems and highlight the adaptability of bird foraging strategies.