system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: without ever looking in a mirror, how do animals know what species they belong to and not mistake themselves as for another one?
gpt
It depends on the animal.

More complex creatures like mammals and birds learn it.  Birds imprint on the creature that raises them.  Mammals have a childhood and exposure to their parents and possibly siblings.  From then on, anything that looks/smells kinda like that animal and acts about the same way gets treated like one of its own kind.

Note that many animals don't have a distinct recognition of their precise species.  Many species can interbreed and will readily, but simply don't because they are geographically separated.  These are cases of seeing a different species, but it being close enough.

Some animals don't have this recognition ability.  Most insects treat those of their own species like they would most any other insect (whether that happens to be).  When mating season comes around, it's a combination of smell and "playing along" (if you're a male doing your male courtship thing, and another creature about your size comes along and starts doing the female thing, it's probably your species, and probably a female).