Honeyguides are noted and named for one or two species that will deliberately lead humans (but, contrary to popular claims, most likely not honey badgers[1]) directly to bee colonies, so that they can feast on the grubs and beeswax that are left behind.

[3][4] The number of species in each family is taken from the list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela C. Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC).

They also feed on waxworms which are the larvae of the waxmoth Galleria mellonella, on bee colonies, and on flying and crawling insects, spiders, and occasional fruits.

[10] Contrary to most depictions of the human-honeyguide relationship, the Hadza did not actively repay honeyguides, but instead, hid, buried, and burned honeycomb, with the intent of keeping the bird hungry and thus more likely to guide again.

[11][10] Despite popular belief,[citation needed] no evidence indicates that honeyguides guide the honey badger; though videos about this exist, there have been accusations that they were staged.

The honeyguide mother ensures her chick hatches first by internally incubating the egg for an extra day before laying it, so that it has a head start in development compared to the hosts' offspring.