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Typically, each cool-burn undertaken in winter will be no larger than an eighth of a hectare. These burns remove older rank heather, which is drier and has a higher fuel load; this helps to reduce the risk of wildfires. In addition, it provides a mini firebreak, were a fire to come along; it will not stop the fire, but it can slow it down. More importantly, it gets rid of the old vegetation, which has limited benefit for biodiversity, and allows the heather plant to regenerate, providing new young shoots for birds and mammals to eat. If burned in a rotational fashion, as is practised, differing heights of growth provide alternately a source of food or nesting areas for ground-nesting birds such as ring ouzel, meadow pipits, wheatear, merlin, stonechats, grouse and black game—and, of course, the slightly older, deeper heather provides protection from aerial predation.