Black Kites and Wildfires

This is Bird Note.

The Savannah Country of Northern Australia is one of the most

fire-prone natural habitats in the world.

And its plants have evolved to thrive with frequent,

low-intensity blazes.

As a fire sweeps across the Savannah,

raptors such as black kites stand or hover

near the edge of the flames,

awaiting prey such as grasshoppers in lizards

fleeing for safety.

Indigenous Australians have long known

that black kites aren't just opportunists.

The birds actually create some of these fires

by carrying burning twigs in their talons,

dropping them on a patch of Savannah

away from the original wildfire

and picking off the escaping prey.

In a 2017 study of Australia's fire hawks,

researchers collected first-hand accounts of black kites,

whistling kites, and brown falcons,

intentionally spreading fires.

It's thought that setting a new area of blaze

allows these fire hawks to feed in a space

with fewer rival predators.

It's possible that humans might even have learned

how to use fire long ago

by watching these birds carrying burning embers.

Today, fire ecologists and land managers

are learning to account for fire hawks

in sustainable wildfire management.

For bird note, I'm Michael Stein.

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