Deep in the dense rainforest, a beautiful riff of bird song echoes in the distance, but the singer’s shadow is nowhere to be found. How would you identify the exact bird species singing that melodious song without seeing it? Ask an orang asli. Specifically, a member of the Temiar group.

New research published in the Malayan Nature Journal Special Edition 2017 reveals that the Temiar people have a unique ability to recognise birds not from what they look like but by what sounds they make.