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Birds in these photos are deliberately letting ants crawl all over them for health reasons

Popkin
Feb 19, 2026
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@lostfoundartny
Lost Found Art | “Anting”
Is a maintenance behavior in which ce…

The birds in these photos aren’t being terrorized by ants — they’re having a self-care day. Despite how alarming it looks, this behavior is completely intentional. What would be a nightmare for humans is fun for these little birds (I’m not sure how fun it is for the ants, though).

The birds allow ants to crawl all over them for health purposes. The ants …

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