Superb fairywrens more likely to help family members in distress than strangers, like humans

Scientists who studied the superb fairywren were ‘astonished’ at the variation in help offered to distressed birds, which depends on social relations. Photograph: Auscape/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

What do superb fairywrens have in common with humans? They are more likely to help a family member in distress than a stranger.

The study, from scientists at Monash University and the Australian National University, tracked the beloved songbirds in the first research to focus on understanding how animals that live in a multi-level society, like humans, decide to help one another when in need.