For a short essay on anting, check out this BirdNote story:
http://www.birdnote.org/birdnote.cfm?id=763



Bob Sundstrom



From: tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Linda B
Sent: Friday, June 18, 2010 7:19 AM
To: Tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] Anting



We had the fun yesterday watching a robin 'anting' in a in an ant hill that
has developed in our heathers just outside the window, and made a video clip
of it. Fascinating! The bird loooked like he was being bitten as he would
jump around, then quickly do some preening, sit back down and then hop up
quickly, and preen some more. This continued for 3 or 4 minutes. Has
anyone on the list observed this behavior? Are the ants actually biting
them?? I've read that the ants may be removing parasites, or creating
toxins beneficial for grooming--maybe no one knows for sure, but it was
quite amazing to observe. I've often seen flickers eating ants from the
hill, but this was the first time watching a bird taking 'the ant cure'.



Linda Bartlett

Kent, WA