In Aesop’s fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the titular boy repeatedly lies to nearby villagers by shouting that a wolf is attacking his flock. When a wolf actually attacks, the villagers ignore the boy’s now-genuine cries. The moral, as parents tell their children, is: Don’t lie. But it could equally be: If you’re going to lie, mix it up a little. Maybe, cry bear now and then.

In southern Africa, there’s a bird that epitomises this lesson: the fork-tailed drongo. “They’re demonic little birds—black with forked tails, red eyes and a hooked beak,” says Tom Flower from the University of Cape Town. They’re also accomplished impressionists. They make at least 51 different alarm calls, and only six of