For generations, Australian Aboriginal stories described birds spreading fire to hunt prey. Scientists later confirmed that black kites, whistling kites, and brown falcons intentionally carry burning sticks to start new fires and flush out animals.
by shitonthebeach
29 Comments
Where do they think the Phoenix comes from?
As if regular australian wildlife was not terrifying enough, now we have literal firebending raptors committing arson just to get a snack. Pokemon is becoming real.
Just great. Yet another reason for insurance companies to up our premiums…
Some birds just want to watch it all burn.
So, nature is literally lit.
Link to the stories?
Same thing happened in America. The long held belief was that native Americans migrated to the Americans over the Bering Straight during the last ice age. Natives vehemently opposed the theory, claiming their stories had them existing in the Americas long before that time. It wasn’t until fossilized human footprints were found in white sands that the scientific community believed them.
Oral history gets dismissed far too quickly.
Literally the bird:
https://i.redd.it/86vryftcfs3h1.gif
This is actually based on real research. A 2017 paper in the Journal of Ethnobiology documented observations of Australian raptors intentionally spreading fire by carrying burning sticks to flush out prey. Aboriginal Australians had described this behavior for generations before scientists formally studied it.
[https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-ethnobiology/volume-37/issue-4/0278-0771-37.4.700/Intentional-Fire-Spreading-by-Firehawk-Raptors-in-Northern-Australia/10.2993/0278-0771-37.4.700.full](https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-ethnobiology/volume-37/issue-4/0278-0771-37.4.700/Intentional-Fire-Spreading-by-Firehawk-Raptors-in-Northern-Australia/10.2993/0278-0771-37.4.700.full)
Waiting for the parz video
PG&E want their forest fire funds back.
And I feel guilty when I get taco bell. Least I’m not starting a forest fire to get lunch
Firebird!
Smokey the bear does not approve
I feel stupid asking, because the answer is probably obvious and im just not seeing it. But how do they get those sticks burning in the first place?
Bro Australia is literally on DLC content while the rest of us are still in the tutorial.
“Yeah so the birds here figured out how to use tools, coordinate, and commit arson for fun snacks.”
Next patch note: kangaroos unlock firearms 💀
so.. these birds are basically the oil execs of the animal kingdom?
Do they eat the cooked animals?
That happened a lot in indigenous American cultures too! The people weren’t believed!
Nature’s air superiority
Australia really looked at “the floor is lava” and said “what if the birds help.”
Every time I think that continent can’t get weirder it drops a new DLC like “fire hawk with a taste for chaos.”
Video of this behavior would be helpful.
nature’s version of dragon balls, but with more smoke and less nostalgia. 🔥
Hawk used embers its super effective.
Adam Rutherford talks a bit about this in one of his books, can’t remember which one but he’s a great author.
I guess they like their steaks seared
Who started it then ? 😮🤔