anting

ANT-ing

A behavior in which a bird picks up ants and rubs them through its feathers, or sprawls on an anthill and lets the insects crawl over its plumage. The ants release formic acid — a natural insecticide — which may help control feather parasites. Over two hundred species do it. Nobody is entirely sure why.

Etymology

English, from ant. The term was coined in 1936 by Indian ornithologist Salim Ali. The behavior was first described scientifically in 1831.

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