Hawks caught starting fires in Australia

[UM-Bot]

A new study has revealed that some species of hawk deliberately start fires in the Australian outback.

https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/314855/hawks-caught-starting-fires-in-australia

[Hawken]

Very interesting. Maybe hawks in the US like in California are causing brushfires also.

[khol]

Birds are incredibly intelligent animals. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a method of flushing out prey. Ive watched seagulls drop clams on rocks to break them open. Ive also watched crows observing this. Two will approach the gull eating its clam. As it is distracted by one crow the other grabs the clam!!   I have seen this happen a couple times!  There are many accounts of bird intelligence. What is instinctual or actual intelligence may be hard to decipher in some instances I suppose

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/australian-birds-of-prey-have-harnessed-the-use-of-fire-to-flush-out-their-prey/

https://www.thespruce.com/understanding-bird-intelligence-386440

Edited January 13, 2018 by khol

[Hawken]

Seems that Sparrows and Starlings (though a pest) are more intelligent then say Robins and Cardinals. They will nest in your garage or in crooks of a house to get out of the weather then some birds that build nest in trees.

[Hawken]

47 minutes ago, seanjo said:

In the UK the Sparrow population plummeted, they aren't pests over here.

I have a feeling they will plummet here as well. The temps have been as low as -20F to 10F for a good while.

[simplybill]

I burn off my hayfield every few years to control the weeds. One time I counted six bald eagles sitting on fence posts and in trees, waiting for rodents to run out of the tall grass. It’s interesting that they’ve made the association between fire and easy prey.