Why These Birds Carry Flames In Their Beaks
Australia's indigenous peoples have long observed "firehawks" spreading wildfires throughout the country's tropical savannas.
Australia is no stranger to fire: The hardy landscape is adapted to blazes, enduring many thanks to humans and lightning. But Australia’s Aboriginal peoples have long identified a third cause: birds.
In interviews, observations, and ceremonies dating back more than a century, the indigenous peoples of Australia's Northern Territory maintain that a collective group of birds they call “firehawks” can control fire by carrying burning sticks to new locations in their beaks or talons.
The idea is that these birds of prey use fires to help find food—making easy meals out of insects and other small animals trying to flee the blaze. (Read how wildfires form and why they’re so dangerous.)
The anecdotes, compiled in a recent study published in the Journal of Ethnobiology, may lead some to rethink how fires spread through tropical savannas like those in northern Australia.
"We're not discovering anything," cautions co-author Mark Bonta, a National Geographic grantee and geographer at Penn State University. "Most of the data that we've worked with is collaborative with Aboriginal peoples... They've known this for probably 40,000 years or more."
Feeding Frenzy
For decades, people in northern Australia have considered firehawks—the black kite (Milvus migrans), whistling kite (Haliastur sphenurus), and the brown falcon (Falco berigora)—part of the natural order. (Learn more about National Geographic's Year of the Bird.)
According to co-author Bob Gosford, an Australian indigenous-rights lawyer and ornithologist, these birds of prey thrive in wildfires, soaring and perching near the fire fronts that rage in Australia’s tropical savannas.
“Black kites and brown falcons come to these fronts because it is just literally a killing frenzy,” he said in a 2016 interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “It's a feeding frenzy, because out of these grasslands come small birds, lizards, insects, everything fleeing the front of the fire."
Each year, up to 75 percent of Earth’s tropical savannas burn—accounting for about half of the biomass that burns each year worldwide, according to one 2015 review.
Australia is no exception to this rule. From 1997 to 2011, some 18 percent of Australia’s 730,000 square miles of savanna were affected by fire each year, on average. Some regions see fires once every two years. (Watch a massive fire tornado sweep the outback.)
“I have seen a hawk pick up a smouldering stick in its claws and drop it in a fresh patch of dry grass half a mile away, then wait with its mates for the mad exodus of scorched and frightened rodents and reptiles,” wrote Waipuldanya Phillip Roberts in I, the Aboriginal, a 1964 autobiography of Roberts compiled by Australian journalist Douglas Lockwood.
“When that area was burnt out, the process was repeated elsewhere.”
Elusive Firehawks
When Gosford first stumbled across this passage, it later inspired him to collect firsthand accounts of the behavior, which he has doggedly pursued since 2011. Though he hasn’t witnessed it firsthand yet, some of his firefighter co-authors have.
Previously, some local experts had been skeptical of whether hawks were setting fires intentionally—or were merely doing so unintentionally. (See photos of wildfires scorching Australia during a record heat wave.)
The Year of the Bird
In 1918 Congress passed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to protect birds from wanton killing. To celebrate the centennial, National Geographic is partnering with the National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to declare 2018 the Year of the Bird. Sign the pledge to find out this month's action and share your actions using #BirdYourWorld to increase your impact.
“If [hawks] have missed the prey and perhaps grabbed a stick... they will then drop that stick or rock,” wrote Anthony Molyneux of the Alice Springs Desert Park in 2011. “If the stick is smoldering or on fire, it will then start another fire.”
The new study's sweep has impressed outside ornithologists, but more details will surely come to light.
Though Gosford and his colleagues solicited photos and videos of the behavior, they haven’t yet received any usable footage. They hope to document the behavior in the field later this year, by closely studying a series of controlled burns administered by local firefighters.
"The more word gets out on this, the better," says Bonta. "It's only a matter of time."
Related Topics
You May Also Like
Go Further
Animals
- Octopuses have a lot of secrets. Can you guess 8 of them?
- Animals
- Feature
Octopuses have a lot of secrets. Can you guess 8 of them? - This biologist and her rescue dog help protect bears in the AndesThis biologist and her rescue dog help protect bears in the Andes
- An octopus invited this writer into her tank—and her secret worldAn octopus invited this writer into her tank—and her secret world
- Peace-loving bonobos are more aggressive than we thoughtPeace-loving bonobos are more aggressive than we thought
Environment
- Listen to 30 years of climate change transformed into haunting musicListen to 30 years of climate change transformed into haunting music
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
- U.S. plans to clean its drinking water. What does that mean?U.S. plans to clean its drinking water. What does that mean?
- Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security, Video Story
- Paid Content
Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security - Will we ever solve the mystery of the Mima mounds?Will we ever solve the mystery of the Mima mounds?
History & Culture
- Strange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political dramaStrange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political drama
- How technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrollsHow technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrolls
- Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
- This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?
Science
- The unexpected health benefits of Ozempic and MounjaroThe unexpected health benefits of Ozempic and Mounjaro
- Do you have an inner monologue? Here’s what it reveals about you.Do you have an inner monologue? Here’s what it reveals about you.
- Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io has been erupting for billions of yearsJupiter’s volcanic moon Io has been erupting for billions of years
- This 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its timeThis 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its time
Travel
- How to plan an epic summer trip to a national parkHow to plan an epic summer trip to a national park
- This town is the Alps' first European Capital of CultureThis town is the Alps' first European Capital of Culture
- This royal city lies in the shadow of Kuala LumpurThis royal city lies in the shadow of Kuala Lumpur
- This author tells the story of crypto-trading Mongolian nomadsThis author tells the story of crypto-trading Mongolian nomads