Did You Know: Crows Practice "Anting" for Feather Care 🎥

Among the many fascinating behaviors exhibited by birds, anting stands out as one of nature's most peculiar and intriguing avian activities. But do crows engage in this mysterious practice? The answer is a resounding yes - crows do practice anting, both passively and actively, and this behavior serves important functions related to their feather maintenance and overall health.

What is Anting?

Anting is a remarkable behavior in which birds use ants as a natural form of body care. Birds either rub ants directly on their feathers or allow ants to crawl freely over their bodies. When disturbed, the ants release formic acid and other defensive chemicals, which the birds cleverly harness for their own benefit. These secretions are believed to act as natural insecticides, fungicides, and antiparasitic agents, helping birds control pests on their feathers and soothe irritated skin, particularly during the stressful molting period.

Scientists have documented two distinct forms of anting behavior:

Active anting: The bird picks up ants in its beak and deliberately rubs them over its feathers, essentially using the insects as living applicators for their beneficial chemicals.

Passive anting: The bird spreads its wings or body and allows ants to crawl over its plumage without actively manipulating them, letting the ants do the work naturally.

Crows and Their Anting Behavior

Crows predominantly exhibit passive anting, displaying a preference that may reflect their intelligence and energy conservation strategies. Observers report that crows will deliberately settle on or near ant nests and allow ants to walk freely over their feathers. During these sessions, the birds permit the ants to spray formic acid onto their skin and plumage. This behavior is quite distinctive—crows can appear to be wiggling or flapping excitedly to encourage the ants to spread throughout their feathers.

While less common, crows also occasionally engage in active anting by picking up individual ants and methodically rubbing them on specific areas of their plumage.

Photographic evidence and eyewitness accounts confirm that crows participate in anting sessions, sometimes even in groups. One particularly notable documentation came from photographer Tony Austin in Victoria, British Columbia, who captured remarkable images of crows with black ants covering their wings as they indulged in extended anting sessions. These images sparked widespread scientific interest because such clear visual evidence of anting behavior in crows is exceptionally rare.

Crow anting - Credit Flickr, Storm

The Science Behind Why Crows Ant

While the definitive reasons behind anting remain somewhat mysterious, several well-supported scientific hypotheses explain this fascinating behavior:

Parasite Control: The formic acid secreted by ants serves as a powerful natural pesticide, helping to reduce lice, mites, and other parasites that commonly infest bird feathers and skin. This chemical treatment provides crows with an effective, readily available solution to pest problems.

Skin Soothing During Molting: Birds often experience significant skin irritation while molting their feathers—a process that can be quite uncomfortable. Anting may provide relief by applying mild chemical stimulation to irritated areas, offering natural pain and itch relief.

Feather Maintenance: The acidic compounds may help maintain feathers in optimal condition by reducing harmful microbial growth and deterring fungi and bacteria that could damage plumage.

Sensory Stimulation: Some researchers theorize that anting might provide pleasurable or stimulating sensations to birds, similar to how humans might use therapeutic treatments. This hypothesis is particularly compelling when applied to intelligent species like crows.

Nutritional Benefits: Following anting sessions, birds often consume the ants, gaining valuable nutritional benefits alongside their grooming routine—essentially combining healthcare with a protein-rich snack.

The Rarity and Challenge of Observation

Although more than 200 bird species worldwide have been documented practicing anting—including blue jays, common grackles, and American robins—observing this behavior in crows remains relatively uncommon. This rarity stems from several factors: anting sessions are typically brief, lasting only a few minutes, and often occur during concealed or less-observed moments when birds feel secure and undisturbed.

The fleeting nature of anting behavior makes capturing it photographically or through detailed observation a special and scientifically valuable occurrence. Crows' apparent preference for passive anting may relate to their remarkable intelligence and naturally opportunistic approach to problem-solving. They appear to carefully select ant species that produce the most beneficial chemicals and demonstrate remarkable patience in allowing the insects to crawl over them, possibly to maximize treatment effectiveness while minimizing energy expenditure.

Broader Implications and Cultural Learning

Anting represents a fascinating example of natural self-medication and evolutionary adaptation in the avian world. Some bird species even demonstrate flexibility by using substitute materials such as snails, beetle larvae, or other chemical-producing insects when ants are unavailable.

The behavior is considered a sophisticated form of maintenance activity alongside preening and bathing, all aimed at keeping birds' plumage in peak condition for flight, insulation, and overall health.

Particularly intriguing is the potential for cultural transmission of anting behavior. Crows are renowned for their intelligence and capacity for social learning, which suggests that young crows might acquire anting techniques by observing and mimicking adults. This social learning component could explain regional variations and group differences in the frequency and specific methods of anting behavior observed across different crow populations.

🎥 (2:22) Crow taking an ant bath. The formic acid from the ants helps the birds control feather-mites and other parasites. The black crow, the great tit and the jays, all use a different technique. 

Conclusion

Crows do indeed practice anting, primarily through the passive method of allowing ants to crawl freely through their feathers. This intriguing and somewhat mysterious behavior serves multiple biological functions: controlling parasites, soothing skin irritation, maintaining feather health, and possibly providing sensory pleasure.

While scientists continue investigating the complete picture of why birds engage in anting, photographic evidence and behavioral studies increasingly support the understanding that crows, like many other intelligent bird species, have successfully harnessed the defensive chemicals of ants as a natural and highly effective component of their sophisticated grooming and healthcare regimen.

Due to the rarity and fleeting nature of this behavior, each documented instance of crows anting represents a valuable contribution to our understanding of avian intelligence, self-care behaviors, and the remarkable ways animals adapt to use their environment for health and wellness.

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