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

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.