So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
How about: -art (cave paintings, etc) -music it's striking to see 6-12 month old infants bopping up and down to music. They're not taught to do this and I've never heard of animals responding to music...
Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
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Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#22So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
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Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#23From http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-03/smart-bushfire-birds/7...:
> Mr Gosford said he had never actually seen a bird at a fire front, intentionally spreading the fire.
> So he said he decided to appeal to people to come forward if they had seen birds behaving in that way.
> Mr Gosford said he received 16 firsthand accounts from people who said they had witnessed birds spreading bushfires to flush out prey.
> ...
> He said he hoped by filming birds spreading fires, others would see how valuable Aboriginal knowledge could be to the broader community.
This is a much more speculative thing than a reading of that abstract makes it out to be. It's not impossible, but there's no hard evidence of it as yet. Certainly, there's no video.
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#24This is super cool, if a bit scary. Man Australia has it all though, 8/10 of the deadliest spiders, half the deadliest snakes, crocodiles, rockfish, and now firebirds. Inhabiting Australia is a testament to man's arrogance.
Haha, this has been a well-trod rant of mine for years. Don't forget scorpions, vampire bats, great white sharks, and the world's top 4 deadliest jellyfish!
I grew up in Darwin and lived to tell the tale.
It's really very simple. Here is a diagram:
[place where bad things are]
[me]
It's just not difficult.
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#25So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
We are special though. Birds carrying burning sticks to spread fires is significantly different from humans:
-Starting fires
-Using fire to process food
-Using fire to process raw materials into something that can be used for tools, structures etc.
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#26So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
What animals use language?
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#27So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
Call me when you find another animal that launched itself to the moon.
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#28So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
What animals use language?
Almost all of them. Which animals does not communicate verbally or with gestures or similar language constructs?
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#29First website I've seen in a while that disallows viewing it with first-party cookies disabled.
It's not that uncommon for scientific journals, sadly.
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Basically, I'd trust Bob Gosford. And the folks out bush tend to have a fairly keen understanding of their local ecosystems.
This may be a personal failing on my part - argument from personal incredulity as Dawkins puts it - but the idea of a bird intentionally carrying fire instead of fleeing it seems a bit odd. See also http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-03/smart-bushfire-birds/7... : > Mr Gosford said he had never actually seen a bird at a fire front, intentionally spreading the fire. > So he said he decided to appeal to people to come…
> the idea of a bird intentionally carrying fire instead of fleeing it seems a bit odd.
Fire-stick farming has probably been practiced for tens of thousands of years, which gives a lot of time for birds to evolve in response. Most bushfires in the top end attract raptors as-is (especially Wedge-Tailed Eagles), because there are strong thermals to ride and lots of prey is forced to move, making it easier to hunt.
> It seems Mr. Gosford shares my desire to see a video of the birds in action. And hasn't been able to produce one yet.
The remote parts of the NT are not a suburban or downtown environment. They are not drenched with folks carrying smart phones who are looking for such behaviour. It's vast, mostly empty and when a bushfire is coming what you're meant to be doing is getting the hell away from it before it catches up and kills you.
I appreciate the skepticism, but I wouldn't put bush lore on the same footing as UFOs. One requires a plausible thesis consistent with our knowledge of physics and plausible within the increasingly large scope of observed animal behaviour. The other requires civilisations with FTL travel but no X-ray machines.