ABSTRACT
Deception is central to communication as illustrated by Herodotus in 440BC who quoted in his book The Histories, “[Men] lie, because they think to gain by deceiving others; and speak the truth, because they expect to get something by their true speaking, and to be trusted afterwards in more important matters”. Here, I explore the evolution of deceptive communication considering its occurrence and persistence, the outcomes of coevolution between deceivers and the deceived and the consequences for social cognition. Throughout, I draw on the fascinating diversity of deceptive systems across the natural world with particular focus on the flexible behavioural tactics of a bird, the fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis), which uses false-alarms to steal other animals’ food. These examples illustrate how the benefits available from deception fueled the evolution of complex behaviour and potentially drove the social cognition that facilitated the evolution of human societies. Looking to the future, I highlight the need to identify the concurrent evolution of the cognitive mechanisms that support behaviour, the benefits these provide and the ecological contexts in which they are favoured.
