Hawks that use fire, wow

Did you all know about this?

Australian ‘firehawks’ use fire to catch prey

“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 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.

How about that? Other tool use by birds: Egyptian vultures use rocks to hammer ostrich eggs till they break. Gulls drop bread into water to bait fish into rising to the surface. Crows not only use sticks to get to insects, they carve the end of a stick into a hook first. Parrots can use pebbles to grind shells into grit so they can eat the shells — they need the calcium.

But use of fire! That’s a new one on me.

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