Fires attract and fuel hunting success of Australian pyrophilic birds

Changes in fire regimes negatively impact biodiversity worldwide1,2. The immediate behavioral responses of animals to fire, however, are largely unknown. Despite presenting obvious dangers, fire can also attract animals by providing unique foraging opportunities3. Such attraction to fire (pyrophilia) has already been observed in some bird species, yet its underlying motivation remains unidentified. Here, we examined the abundance and behavior of 16 bird species before, during, and after prescribed burns in the northern Australian savanna. Eight species were on average 3 to 23 times more abundant during fires. Raptors caught on average ten times more prey per hour during burns than in the absence of fire, and their foraging success increased with fire size. Black kites, the most pyrophilic birds observed, were more numerous during larger fires and foraged more efficiently on the ground than in the air. These results underscore the importance of investigating animal behavior in response to active fire and the effects of shifting fire regimes on the foraging ecology of pyrophilic animals.