Lmst

I have to share my #anting story...

We were #birding at the #Audubon #CorkscrewSwamp in S #Florida. Most of the hike is on a boardwalk so you are up high looking down at #birds on the ground when not over water. We see a #CommonYellowthroat #Warbler on the ground attacking a group of ants. It was odd because he didn't look like he was eating them, just tossing them around like he was mad at them.

Many years later I was reading "The Birder's Handbook" (which has an interesting format, one bird description on each right-hand page, and a more general bird-related essay on the left). I got to the essay on "Anting" and remembered that little bird and the ants! Not mad, not hungry... He just needed a little bug repellent!

Note that elsewhere on a sister site there is an article that seems to contradict all of the above... ?!

https://feederwatch.org/blog/anting-blue-jays-taking-a-bath-or-preparing-dinner/

#Bird #Book

@mybirdcards

I have a personal #CommonYellowThroat story...

I was in the #CorkscrewSwamp Preserve (S. #Florida) many years ago on a boardwalk when I looked down that the roots of a tree and saw a Yellowthroat attacking, but not eating, some ants. I thought "That's odd," and checked the bird off my year list. At the time I had no idea what I had witnessed.

Years later, doing some bird-related reading I discovered "Anting" a form of self-maintenance, self-medication! 🙂 🤷‍♂️

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior)

#Birds #Behavior