I was reading about birds. Smart ones. In the landscape surrounding me, American crows and magpies are easily among the most intelligent. Some research suggests they learn to recognize the faces of people they regularly encounter. They also learn our habits and the habits of our pets.
Armed with this knowledge they
generally pester us.
Both of these birds engage in a
most peculiar habit called “anting.”
Anting is something of a maintenance
routine where the birds will stand or splay their wings atop an anthill and
allow the ants to climb all over their feathers. They may pick up ants and rub them into their
wings.
Anting has the benefit of warding off parasites. The formic acid secreted by ants acts as an insecticide, miticide, fungicide, or bactericide all at once. Some birds are also thought to become drunk from the formic acid released from the ant’s bodies.
—Mitchell Hegman
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