Complex society discovered in the vulturine guineafowl

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Konstanz report the existence of a multilevel society in a small-brained bird, the vulturine guineafowl. The scientists saw the creatures behaving highly cohesively without exhibiting the signature intergroup aggression that is common in other group-living birds. "[N]othing was known about them," a researcher said.