animal communication
Interspecies information exchange
Animal communication is the transfer of information between animals through signals—visual displays, sounds, scents, touch, or movement.
Bees dance to indicate food sources; dogs growl to warn; birds sing to attract mates or defend territory.
The field studies how animals encode and decode these signals, distinct from human language in lacking syntax and open-ended creativity.
- body languageUnspoken physical expression
- mating callsAnimal courtship vocalizations
- bird callsAvian vocal communications
- echolocationNavigation through reflected sound
- distress callsUrgent requests for aid
vocalization · wolf howl · bioluminescence · pheromones · ethology · scent glands · courtship displays · stridulation · electroreceptors · alarm calls · warning signals · whale song · mating rituals · instinct · birdsong · social bonding · courtship rituals · social behavior
animal communicationnatural language
Human communication, not programming
spoken language · written language · symbolic language · sign language · conversation
animal communicationartificial language
Invented system of communication
computer language · programming language · formal language · synthetic speech · conlang