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Photographer captures 'odd but exciting' crow behaviour known as anting
- lioeters 5y ago> [A]nting is..where birds rub insects, usually ants, on their feathers and skin. > Some birds will sit still on an anthill and patiently allow the creatures to crawl freely through their feathers. At other times they have been seen to pick the ants up with their beaks and rub themselves with the tiny insects. > Sensing a threat, the ants shoot a spray of formic acid from their abdomens or anal glands which gets absorbed into the bird's body and acts as a natural insecticide. > ..A widely held theory..maintains that birds use the ants to soothe irritated skin during periods of heavy feather molting, while another theory suggests it controls parasites which live in the bird's plumage.
- ggm 5y agoyou left off "self-stimulation" -but, other comments note Crows are amongst the most intelligent of animals. I know it is an outsider theory, but..
- jamal-kumar 5y agoOutsider theory? Not really, we use them in scientific studies studying the evolution of intelligence all the time. I think I remember hearing last that they're even capable of metacognition (thinking of thought itself) https://www.statnews.com/2020/09/24/crows-possess-higher-intelligence-long-thought-primarily-human/ https://www.statnews.com/2020/09/24/crows-possess-higher-int...
- perihelions 5y ago>Beekeepers use formic acid as a miticide against the tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi) and the Varroa destructor mite and Varroa jacobsoni mite.[29] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formic_acid#Uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formic_acid#Uses
- everly 5y agoI’m inclined to think it’s akin to recreational drug usage in humans. Crows are supposedly more intelligent/aware than other animals, and with awareness comes existential dread or whatever you want to call it. Lots of humans use drugs to alleviate this and I think it’s plausible that crows do something similar. Hopefully I’m wrong and it’s a more uplifting reason.
- dflock 5y agoCrows definitely get drunk, on purpose, by eating rotten fruit & berries, so this is plausible - although formic acid to the skin seems less fun - but then I'm not a crow.
- srge 5y ago> I’m not a crow I can see that
- dr_dshiv 5y agoMany animals get intoxicated—even insects! I recently read "animals and psychedelics" by G. Samorini. It had some pretty impressive examples.
- londons_explore 5y agoRotten fruit has a lot of calories in it... Perhaps they aren't intentionally getting drunk, but merely trying to get those calories and being drunk is a side effect? Being drunk as a bird wouldn't seem to be a good idea from a survival point of view ...
- Udik 5y agoBird equivalent of Jacuzzi.
- sgt 5y agoPeople can try anting too. Do you want to try and report back to HN with your findings?
- Gravityloss 5y agoBefore cosmetics were available, some people stuck their face to an ants nest, I think the theory was that that could help peeling dead skin.
- withants- 5y agoWith ants
- dylan604 5y agoWhat kind of ants are we talking about here, because I cannot imagine anything good from doing this with a fire ant mound.
- IncRnd 5y agoThis doesn't seem realistic. Men, most who don't wear cosmetics, don't spontaneously stick their faces against ant hills. The women who don't wear cosmetics, either, don't seem to cover their faces in ants.
- h0l0cube 5y agoCrows (and other animals) are known to learn behaviors from each other, it doesn't need to be genetically encoded
- IncRnd 5y agoI was answering this comment, "Before cosmetics were available, some people stuck their face to an ants nest, I think the theory was that that could help peeling dead skin," which was not about crow's behaviour - either by nurture or nature. I can't believe that people are actually taking that comment from the parent seriously. All I can say is that people tend to believe whatever they read.
- tpmx 5y agoI live in a place where I get to witness epic battles between a murder of crows and a colony of seagulls on a daily basis this time of the year. The seagulls are nesting on the roofs of nearby houses. The crows are trying to eat the seagull hatchlings. It's kind of fascinating to watch. It seems like the crows are trying new strategies every new day. The much larger seagulls are wasting lots of energy in a kinda stupid way, the crows are chilling most of the time.
- monkeycantype 5y agoThat sounds like an awesome nature documentary. Where is this?
- tpmx 5y agoSouth-eastern Sweden, at the coast.
- xanadohnt 5y agoCrow are the full embodiment of "evil genius".
- tejtm 5y agoThey are thought to have come from little Australian songbirds who came on hard times like everything else when their environment went full desert on them, unlike the other nice birds that accepted their doom they leveled up and started eating their neighbors eggs for extra protein and fewer competitors it has been a remarkable successful strategy and they (like us) took it on the road and spread around the globe
- rantwasp 5y agoi got to witness a murder of crow harassing 2 bald eagles until the eagles just gave up and left. we’re not even talking a lot. There were maybe 6-7 crows. The theory I heard is the bald eagle(s) could easily take them on but they risk injury and the crows will try to mess them up. So the eagles just don’t risk it and move on + hunt things that don’t fight back (like rabbits). also, I can swear that crows taunt my dog who does not like them and will bark/try to catch them. it’s like watching a comedy show with the crows doing something to provoke the dog and literally “laughing” afterwards.
- belter 5y agoCrows actions are on par or exceed Octopus level of smartness "Smart Crow uses cars to crack nuts in Akita, Japan" https://youtu.be/NenEdSuL7QU https://youtu.be/NenEdSuL7QU "Are Crows the Ultimate Problem Solvers?" https://youtu.be/cbSu2PXOTOc https://youtu.be/cbSu2PXOTOc
- 14 5y agoI have noticed crows land on the ant hills on my property but never let me get close enough to get a picture. I am also on Vancouver Island. I carry a bag of unshelled peanuts in my car and when I see a crow toss one. They love peanuts and are very intelligent animals.
- optimalsolver 5y ago>Dr. David Bird, an emeritus professor of wildlife biology with McGill University. Quite an appropriate name. Reminds me of the two most distinguished geologists of our day, Johnny Rockman and Bobby Boulders.
- karmakaze 5y agoPeople do seem to gravitate/grow into their names. The one that stands out to me is Schwarzschild radius: schwarz == black.
- MauranKilom 5y agoAlso in sports: https://xkcd.com/2022/ https://xkcd.com/2022/
- Rendello 5y agoI laughed at the fictional dentist supposedly named "Crentist" in the Office, then I remembered the largest scam in recent history was by Bernie Madoff.
- thaumasiotes 5y ago> then I remembered the largest scam in recent history was by Bernie Madoff. I don't get it?
- dwighttk 5y agoPronounced “Made off”
- tomjakubowski 5y agoBernie Madoff with all their money.
- dwighttk 5y agoNo kidding a CPA in my hometown went to prison for fraud named… Cheatham
- macintux 5y agoMy favorite, albeit not that interesting crow story... Southwestern Indiana has some ecosystems that are unusual for the state, including a bald cypress swamp remnant. I visited Hovey Lake near that swamp two consecutive early mornings, and both days I heard an unusual (to me) bird call right at sunrise that I was able to identify as a fish crow. We don't have typically have fish crows elsewhere in the state, not even sure they're common at Hovey Lake, so I have no idea whether this sunrise behavior is common, but I did find a similar story from much further south. https://meadowblog.net/2018/01/good-morning-from-a-fish-crow/ https://meadowblog.net/2018/01/good-morning-from-a-fish-crow...
- vips7L 5y agoI saw some starlings in my backyard doing this yesterday. I thought they were overheating from the heat by the way they were laying, but I guess not!
- aitchnyu 5y agoI think I may have noticed this. I assumed the crow was dying and another one wanted to eat it.
- BLanen 5y agoI actually saw a crow on what I think was an ant-spot today. Just sitting there when I was walking by fairly close, unphased.
- sarak12070 5y agoBest homemade mask for anti aging Easy to make at home http://healthwithbeauty.xyz/2021/06/06/cucumber-and-egg-white-for-sagging-skin-natural-simple-method/ http://healthwithbeauty.xyz/2021/06/06/cucumber-and-egg-whit... Among Us'-shaped McNugget sells for nearly $100,000 https://www.interestingnews.club/2021/06/among-us-shaped-mcnugget-sells-for.html https://www.interestingnews.club/2021/06/among-us-shaped-mcn... Most colorful animals in the world... https://www.interestingnews.club/2021/06/most-colorful-animals-in-world.html https://www.interestingnews.club/2021/06/most-colorful-anima...
- stopping 5y agoPre-WFH, there were several groups of crows near my office covering distinct territories around my building. I made a habit of feeding and interacting with a few of these groups, every day for several months. Here are my experiences: * I did indeed see a crow "anting" one time, and was initially as bewildered as the photographer in TFA. Surprisingly I was able to get much closer to the bird than they normally allow, but stepped back as soon as I saw it wasn't actually in distress. * The best way to get close to a crow is to back up towards it; they are extremely wary of eye contact and will immediately become alert if you look at them or move towards them with your body facing forward. Over time, I used this method to get close to them and demonstrate that I wasn't a threat. I "trained" the crows to recognize that if they let me get close, I'll drop some food for them. After a while you don't have to do the backwards shimmy, but it's a good default strategy for approaching naturally skittish creatures. * If you feed crows in exactly the same place every day, they will recognize you and fly to the "feeding spot". Crows pay very close attention to your movements and behaviors, and like most animals will try to develop a mental model to figure out when you're going to feed them. If presented with consistent causal behaviors, the birds will essentially train themselves. * Crows are very sensitive to changes in appearance and behavior. I switched jackets one day and was met with immediate suspicion. * My most fruitful experiment was right before the lockdown. I would stand in a specific location for a little while and watch the birds (watching them from a distance piques their curiosity and alertness to you). With them watching, I would pretend to plant food somewhere nearby and then move away. The crows would fly over, and I would immediately reward them. After a few weeks of this, I began gesturing towards nearby objects with my hand, and the birds would investigate the object immediately after I move away. After consistently rewarding this behavior, I was able to advance to "pointing to a semi-nearby object with my arm". One crow eventually figured out how to fly to the object I was pointing at, and I did a few successful tests to make sure the crow would fly specifically to the object I was pointing at, and not at some other nearby object. I have yet to train them to land on distant objects, but I'm hopeful! * Crows like pistachios (they have multiple techniques for cracking the shell), and love cashews and peanuts (unsalted are best for the birds). They'll almost always opt for the "more convenient" snack, especially when they're competing with other crows. I try to reward the "bravest" crows first, by slowly moving away from the food pile until one crow moves in. Like other animals, crows also learn by observing the reward loop from a distance, and you can use this to get a large number of them to trust you. * Crows are very curious when they feel safe, and it is mutually entertaining to set up unusual scenarios (such as hiding food inside or under tricky objects, like empty water bottles or closed paper containers).
- withants 5y agocrows with ants
- enricozb 5y agoAnother example of animals (lemurs) rubbing insects (millipedes) on themselves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYXoCHLqr4o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYXoCHLqr4o
- speakspokespok 5y agoTFA mentions anting "is a rare occurrence". While I didn't know what the birds were doing until now this happen semi-regularly on my neighbor's front lawn just across the street. There are two specific spots they like. I've always assumed they were sunbathing or too hot.
- Maursault 5y agoDavid Attenborough describes anting in Life on Earth, Episode 8: Lords of the Air [1] at 14 minutes in, with accompanying footage. [1] https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2iepvg https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2iepvg
- mercora 5y agoi feel like they are doing this to "scratch" themselves when their skin feels itchy...
- jamal-kumar 5y agoI grew up on this island where this photo was taken, crows and especially their huge cousins the ravens were some of the coolest creatures on two wings around. I remember one of them coming up to a table where me and my brother were playing uno and the bird just brazenly came up to us and stole one of the cards, we were bugging out because we had borrowed the set from a friend and unfortunately i have a photo of some fat naked dude sitting on an anthill smiling scratching his beard covered in ants so this behaviour isn't really restricted to crows. it's like a thing in Finland or something. It is the first result for 'man sitting on ants' in google image search but it's blurred out and you have to click through to see
- thinkingemote 5y agoPerhaps the bird copied the behaviour of the human?
- unwind 5y agoThat was weird. Also TIL that English of course has a specific word for a bunch of crows: a murder of crows [1]. As a non-native user of the language, that was ... surprising. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Crows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Crows
- sneak 5y agoRelevant: https://m.imgur.com/8HxDu https://m.imgur.com/8HxDu Another fun one: a gaggle of geese
- strogonoff 5y agoIn English, collective nouns for a group of (usually animals) are full of surprises and often sound quite creative. A wake of vultures, a rave of ravens, a rookery of seals, and so on.
- mikelevins 5y agoThere's also a standard name for such nouns in aggregate; "terms of venery". "Venery" in this context means hunting game animals, a usage that dates back to the late Middle Ages. Terms of venery are the conventional nouns used to designate collections of game animals. They're colorful, as you already know. There are a bunch of them that we've inherited from the late Middle Ages. On the other hand, there are a bunch more of them with more recent origin, presumably because amusement with the inherited ones has motivated lovers of words to coin new ones. James Lipton wrote a book entitled An Exaltation of Larks collecting a lot of terms of venery, both ancient and modern. If you are amused by "a murder of crows" and "a parliament of owls" then you'd probably like the book.
- singingboyo 5y agoSome animals do have multiple options. I guess creativity gets a bit more free reign given the lack of standard terms? Personally, I've never heard 'rave of ravens'. I've always been partial to conspiracy of ravens as the grouping of choice. Other favorites include: * Parliament of owls * Convocation of eagles * Ostentation of peacocks
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- meigwilym 5y agoI saw this the other day. A crow lying in a ploughed field with its wings spread out on the ground. Like in the photo, another crow was was watching. I just thought "huh" and carried on with my run. I'll be sure to document next time.
- replwoacause 5y agoA non sequitur but, I once read on Nextdoor (where I get most of my life hacks) that if you have a problem with crows hanging around in your backyard, just place an upside down bowl out there and problem solved.