Art Of War Type Ish: They Got A Bird Called ‘FireHawk’ That Starts Fires To Draw Out Prey! (Fact Commentary)

"From 2011 to 2017, Bonta — an assistant professor of earth sciences at Pennsylvania State University — and his colleagues interviewed indigenous people, fire rangers, academics and others who had witnessed firehawks carrying fire in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. Their observations indicated black kites (Milvus migrans), whistling kites (Haliastur sphenurus) and brown falcons (Falco berigora) congregate around savanna fires, descend to seize burning sticks and transport them in their beaks or talons, either individually or in small cooperative groups. After dropping the sticks in other areas and setting the ground ablaze, these fire specialists swoop closer and grab grasshoppers and other invertebrates in midair as the prey flee the smoldering vegetation.

“Certain birds are fire followers in that they will take advantage of fires,” Bonta said. They perceive smoke and snatch the flushed-out animals. But a few raptors actively disperse flames on the landscape to obtain food. Their reliance on fire challenges the conventional notion that only human beings can wield it, he said, and it casts light on recent research suggesting birds have higher intelligence than was previously thought.

Yet this fire manipulation could put other birds on the savanna in jeopardy, Bonta said. Since European colonization, he said, cattle ranchers have suppressed fire to protect livestock, including by illegally shooting species resembling firehawks — possibly rarer birds like letter-winged kites (Elanus scriptus), square-tailed kites (Lophoictinia isura) and peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus)." - Wildlife.Org | Via officialodddanny |