Anting

Anting is when birds rub themselves with ants or other insects to help keep themselves clean and healthy. Imagine if you were a bird and you got some dirt or bugs stuck in your feathers. You wouldn't be able to use soap and water like we do, so you might use ants instead! Birds will often pick up ants with their beaks, crush them, and then rub the ant juice all over themselves. This might sound gross to us, but ant juice has chemicals in it that can help get rid of parasites and bacteria that might make the bird sick. So, birds use anting as a natural way to keep themselves looking and feeling good!