Every morning after we have our cup of coffee, Mary Alice checks for the word of the day. Today the word was hobnob. Now, most of the time we do not know the meaning of the given word, and that day was no exception.

The word hobnob means to associate familiarly. There are many, many words in the dictionary that we do not use. One such word is autolycism. Through the years farmers, who had been cutting their hay and plowing their fields, have told me that they often have an animal or a bird follow the machinery around the field, waiting for a meal of insects and mice to be uncovered.

This is known as autolycism, a term coined by Richard Merinertzhagen, a British ornithologist. It is a word used for birds and mammals that make use of man, his buildings and also the use that birds make of other birds, mammals, reptiles and fish. For example, birds use the hair of mammals, skins of reptiles and man-made materials, such as yarn, cloth, wire or pins in making their nests.

I wondered how the word autolycism came to be so I began to do some researching. In Shakespeare’s “Winter’s Tale,” Autolycus (meaning “lone wolf”) is a con artist, who roams around the Bohemian countryside, taking advantage of any poor sap he happens to come across. Autolycus does whatever is needed to make a buck, and he’s really good at his job.

Autolycus also happens to be a fairly likeable character because he’s straightforward and honest about his scheming ways. In the fourth act, he is also entertaining with his lying and cheating interspersed with singing and dancing. His festive spirit is befitting a Shakespearean comedy. In mythology, Autolycus inherits the traits of trickery from his father, who is Mercury, the Greek God Hermes.

Therefore, a bird or animal using man, birds or mammals for its own benefit was compared to Autolycus by British Ornithologists. One well-known bird that is famous for doing this is the honey guide of Africa. The honey guide would lead either native tribesmen or a ratel to the location of wild honeybee hives found in the cavities of trees. After the hive was plundered by either the natives or ratel, the honey guide ate the remaining comb and honey. The grateful tribesmen actually set out honeycombs and honey to thank the honey guide.

Birds, such as crows and titmice, pluck the hair of sheep, goats, deer and even man to use in their nests. The chipping sparrow has been famous for lining its nest with the long hairs shed from a horse’s tail.

Seabirds watch for other seabirds to fly down to feed. Have you ever thrown food up in the air to feed a gull, and in what seems like seconds, gulls from every direction appear? These gulls were practicing autolycism.

Turkey vultures are often seen soaring overhead. They find their food by smell, which is possibly the oldest of all animal senses. In a 25-year study of turkey vultures, it was proven beyond any doubt that turkey vultures find their food by smell. In one experiment, a dead animal would be hidden from view in brush so it could not be seen from the air, however, each time this was done a vulture quickly detected the dead animal’s odor and landed to feast on the carcass.

Soon, more vultures appeared, not because they smelled the dead animal but because they knew that the vulture on the ground had found food.

When cattle are grazing in a field there are birds, such as the cattle egret, that will feed at their feet, catching grasshoppers, crickets, flies and ticks. In one article, I read that cowbirds picked up the habit of feeding on insects that had been kicked up by the buffalo herds.

However following the buffalo herds presented a problem for the birds during the nesting season. The birds could not stay in one area long enough to make a nest, lay eggs and hatch them. The bird’s solution to this problem was to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and have those birds hatch out their young.

When insects, birds and animals are killed by cars and trucks on the roadway, they are fed upon by hawks, vultures, crows and smaller birds. Some birds, such as the mockingbird and house sparrow, will glean dead insects from automobile grills.

Both robins and catbirds have been known to follow a gardener for grubs or earthworms turned up by the shovel. In the spring, farmers plowing a field are often followed by birds, picking up earthworms and other insects that have been uncovered.

Some birds build their nests where they will profit from the protection of other birds. For instance, ducks will nest near colonies of terns and gulls, which furiously protect their nests from predators, and in so doing, they protect the nests of the ducks.

The bald eagle — which is our national symbol — watches as an osprey catches a fish and then swoops down to steal the fish. The eagle has also been known to dive down on a merganser in the water. The merganser becomes excited and tries to escape and, in doing so, the merganser throws up the fish, which the bald eagle snatches and eats.

I hope these examples explain the word autolycism. Perhaps, we should just say animals are smart.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.