For those interested, there’s a new article on this topic:
Bonta, M., R. Gosford, D. Eussen, N. Ferguson, E. Loveless and M. Witwer (2017). “Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors
in Northern Australia.” Journal of Ethnobiology 37(4): 2017 37(4): 700-718.
https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-37.4.700
Abstract: We document Indigenous Ecological
Knowledge and non-Indigenous observations of intentional fire-spreading by the fire-foraging raptors Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus), and Brown Falcon
(Falco berigora) in tropical Australian savannas. Observers report both solo and cooperative attempts, often successful, to spread wildfires intentionally via single-occasion or repeated transport of burning sticks in talons or beaks. This behavior,
often represented in sacred ceremonies, is widely known to local people in the Northern Territory, where we carried out ethno-ornithological research from 2011 to 2017; it was also reported to us from Western Australia and Queensland. Though Aboriginal rangers
and others who deal with bushfires take into account the risks posed by raptors that cause controlled burns to jump across firebreaks, official skepticism about the reality of avian fire-spreading hampers effective planning for landscape management and restoration.
Via ethno-ornithological workshops and controlled field experiments with land managers, our collaborative research aims to situate fire-spreading as an important factor in fire management and fire ecology. In a broader sense, better understanding of avian
fire-spreading, both in Australia and, potentially, elsewhere, can contribute to theories about the evolution of tropical savannas and the origins of human fire use.
Robin
From: John Harris
[
Sent: Monday, 20 November 2017 11:50 AM
To: chatline
Subject: [canberrabirds] Firebirds
A number of people have contacted me regarding my post the other day about ‘Firebirds’ - Black Kites in the Northern Territory. If you google ‘Black Kite fire’, and then click ‘images’, you will
get some excellent photos which illustrate their close association with fire – and remarkable lack of fear. I was both surprised and pleased that in the initial google page, I learned that there is some formal interest in the claim that Black Kites purposely
spread fire.
