A bird that was zapped by powerlines was the cause of a large fire that destroyed property and livestock near the ACT border earlier this week.
The blaze, which destroyed almost 3400ha, burnt out of control at Tarago in NSW Southern Tablelands for two days after starting on Tuesday.
A rural homestead, vehicles and livestock were lost.
"The fire started as a result of a bird flying close to high voltage powerlines," NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) spokesman Paul Best told AAP on Friday.
"That ignited and landed in dry grass and caused that fire."
Mr Best said investigators had seen similar cases before, though he could not comment on the regularity of them.
"It's certainly not unheard of for animals to be involved in the ignition or spread of fire," he said.
The fire was contained on Thursday, with rainfall in the area on Friday an added blessing for firefighters.
