Warning sign
A warning signal is any signal that indicates a potential or acute danger . A distinction is made between auditory and visual warning signals.
Auditory warnings are characterized by intense, higher-frequency sounds that are sometimes periodically modulated , e.g. B. Warning calls from animals and sirens . Today, auditory warning signals are mainly heard in traffic (train signals, horns, bicycle bells, tram bells, steam whistles), before explosions, in war or disaster control (sirens) and on devices (warning tones).
Visual warning signals are characterized by strong signal colors , usually primary colors , e.g. B. the red traffic light and the yellow-black abdominal curling of the wasps . Visual warning signals from animals are also called warning signs .
Visual warning signals for marking danger spots are called warning signs . In contrast, visual warning signals for identifying hazardous substance properties are called hazard pictograms . The pictograms are based on the warning signs.
Warning signals from animals of a certain species can be imitated by other species (→ mimicry ). A warning signal forgery has even been detected in the case of the weeping drongo ( Dicrurus adsimilis ), a passerine bird native to Africa : These birds imitate the alarm call of other bird species and thus capture their food.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tom P. Flower et al .: Deception by Flexible Alarm Mimicry in an African Bird. In: Science . Volume 344, No. 6183, 2014, pp. 513-516, doi: 10.1126 / science.1249723 .