''Indicator'' is a genus of near passerine birds in the

honeyguide Honeyguides ( family Indicatoridae) are near passerine birds in the order Piciformes. They are also known as indicator birds, or honey birds, although the latter term is also used more narrowly to refer to species of the genus '' Prodotiscus'' ...

family. The name refers to the behaviour of some species, notably the

greater honeyguide The greater honeyguide (''Indicator indicator'') is a bird in the family Indicatoridae, paleotropical near passerine birds related to the woodpeckers. Its English and scientific names refer to its habit of guiding people to bee colonies. C ...

, which guide humans to

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

colonies so that they can share in the spoils of wax and insects when the nest is broken into. ''Indicator'' honeyguides are

brood parasite Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...

s which lay eggs in a nest of another species, in a series of about five during five to seven days. Most favour hole-nesting species, often the related

barbets Barbet may refer to: * Barbet (dog), a dog breed * Various birds in the infraorder Ramphastides ** African barbet, part of the bird family Lybiidae ** New World barbet, the bird family Capitonidae ** Asian barbet The Asian barbets are a family ...

and woodpeckers. Nestlings have been known to physically eject their host's chicks from the nest, and they have hooks on their beaks with which they puncture the hosts' eggs or kill the nestlings, by repeated lacerations if not a fatal stab.

Species

The species in genus ''Indicator'', in taxonomic order, are:

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Indicator (Genus) Honeyguides Bird genera