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A comment on Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia. Parent comment

Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by brlewis on Friday January 05, 2018 @09:22AM (#16078705)
the idea of a bird intentionally carrying fire instead of fleeing it seems a bit odd

Small prey flees fire -> raptor associates fire with food -> raptor is attracted to fire -> raptor picks up stick with fire -> raptor drops stick since it isn't actually food -> small prey flees new fire -> raptor associates dropping fire stick with food.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by jonnycomputer on Friday January 05, 2018 @12:41PM (#16080102)
technically, raptors don't need to intend anything in this instance. they merely need to be attracted to burning sticks long enough to carry them some distance away. in that case, no adaptive justification is really required (aside from that pertaining to the attraction itself (curiosity, or whatever).

still, one can come up with at least a few stories that might "explain" it. outing prey to where they can be caught might be one.

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