Anting

A type of behaviour practised by some songbirds in which they allow ants to run through their plumage. Often the birds fully open their wings and lie on the ground to encourage them, sometimes even picking them up in their bills and rubbing them over their feathers. It's thought that this behaviour releases the ants formic acid, which may help kill parasites in the plumage or act as insect repellent .

Reference

This article is part of Project Glossary, an All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each term related to animals.

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Calcareous • Calcium carbonate • Calendar year • Caldera • Callosity • Calve • Carapace • Carbon cycle • Carnivore • Carpal • Carpal bar • Casque • Casual • Catadromous • Cere • Cheek • Chemosynthesis • Chevron • Chin • Chlorophyll • Chromatophore • Cilia • Clade • Class • Cline • Cloaca • Coast • Cob • Cold seep • Collar • Colonial • Colour morph • Commensalism • Commic terns • Commissure • Common name • Concordant coast • Congeneric • Conservation status • Conspecific • Continental crust • Continental margin • Continental rise • Continental shelf • Continental slope • Convection • Convergent evolution • Coral bleaching • Coral reef • Coralline • Coriolis effect • Coverts • Crepuscular • Crest • Cretaceous • Crissum • Critically Endangered • Crown • Crown patch • Cryptic • Culmen • Current • Cusp • Cyclone D Dactyly • Dark zone • Dawn chorus • Deforestation • Delta • Demersal • Deposit feeding • Depositional coast • Detritus • Deuterium • Dewlap • Diagnostic • Digital object identifier • Dihedral • Discordant coast • DNA • DNA sequence • Doldrums • Dorsal • Drift • Drowned coast • Dune E Ear tuft • Earth • Echolocation • Echo-sounding • Eclipse plumage • Eddy • Egg • Egg tooth • Ekman effect • El Nino • Emargination • Emergent coast • Endangered • Endangered species • Endemic • Endemism • ENSO • Eocene • Equator • Erosional coast • Estuary • Eustatic • Eutrophication • Evolution of birds • Extant • Extinct • Extinct in the wild • Extinction • Exoskeleton • Eye • Eye line • Eye ring • Eye stripe • Eye wattle • Eyebrow F Face skin • Facial disk • Family • Fast ice • Fathom • Fault •Feather • Feather fringe • Fecal sac • Femur • Feral • Ferrel cell • Fertilization • Fetch • Filoplume • Filter feeding • Finger • Fjord • Flagellum • Flank • Fledgling • Flight feathers • Flightless bird • Flipper • Fluke • Foot • Foot projection • Forced wave • Forecrown • Forehead • Foreneck • Foreshore • Forest • Forewing • Fossil • Fractal • Frazil ice • Fringing reef • Frons 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This article is part of Project Bird Behaviour, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each behavioural term related to birds.