Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by jnicholasp 2731 days ago
Birds? Source?
3 comments

I'm not sure what the parent was referencing, but at the very least the Polynesian cultures record a story[1] of man learning to make fire from birds. It's possible this oral tradition has its foundations in an actual event from pre-history.

[1] http://www.sacred-texts.com/pac/maui/maui13.htm

Some birds are thought to deliberately spread wildfires to flush prey out of grass (https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/wildfires-birds-...) - does this have anything to do with early human fire use? No idea...
I would also like to see a source, but judging from all the stories I've read about crows, I wouldn't doubt it.