Monkeys are members of the chattering classes

SCOTTISH scientists have discovered that monkeys can "talk" to one another by combining different calls, it was revealed yesterday.

It was previously known that the creature used basic calls to communicate. But researchers at St Andrew's University have discovered that putty-nosed monkeys actually combine their calls, in a similar way to how humans use words.

Dr Klaus Zuberbuhler and Kate Arnold found that the animals signal to each other using a limited vocabulary, which allows then to evade predators.

Dr Zuberbuhler said: "Our research has revealed some interesting parallels in the vocal behaviour of forest monkeys and human language."

The apes are about the size of a cat and live among the trees in Nigerian rainforests.