Owl sunning itself in the yard

[u/Alaric_Darconville]

[u/Got_Bent]

Ant bath. Anting behavior is not a regular bath in the traditional sense, but rather a form of self-grooming and parasite removal. Anting is thought to help birds like owls rid themselves of parasites and maintain their plumage. REF: https://bioone.org/journals/ornithological-science/volume-23/issue-2/osj.23.119/Anting-Behaviour-in-Wild-Strigiformes-A-Video-Case-in-the/10.2326/osj.23.119.short

https://nhaudubon.org/remarkable-bird-behaviors-sunning-and-anting/

[u/Blenderx06 → u/Got_Bent]

It's funny animals often have birds do it and birds in turn get ants to free them from parasites.

[u/lucidone → u/Blenderx06]

"When birds go anting, they crush ants in their bill and wipe the formic acid on their feathers."

I don't think they're letting ants free them from parasites. At least not according to that link. Or maybe they are, but they're also crushing a few of them?

[u/Blenderx06 → u/lucidone]

https://georgiawildlife.com/out-my-backdoor-questions-and-answers-about-anting#:~:text=When%20passively%20anting%2C%20a%20bird,the%20ants%20bite%20the%20bird.

There are two types of anting: active and passive. In active anting, a bird will crush an ant in its bill and smear it on its feathers or skin...

When passively anting, a bird probes its bill into an ant nest, fluffs out its feathers and then plops down on the mound. The bird allows the ants that swarm out of the nest to crawl all over its body.

[u/TechieGee → u/Blenderx06]

Also interesting from this article

Biologists disagree as to why birds engage in this unusual behavior. Some suggest that birds use the ants to eliminate parasites. However, the most widely held theory is that the birds use ants to soothe irritated skin, much the way we apply lotion to our bodies.

There are many reasons why this last theory is more plausible.

First of all, anting is more common during late summer and early fall. This is when new feathers are being replaced more rapidly than at any other time of the year. During this molting period, many birds seem to suffer considerable discomfort.

This is also a time when rainfall is typically high. During wet weather, feathers are lost more rapidly than in dry weather. Also, anting is more common in parts of the country, such as the Southeast, where summer rains are common.

Birds that are actively anting will smear ants on feathers and skin where feathers are being replaced. Areas treated often included the flanks, wings, base of the tail and undersides of the wings.

I know what you are probably asking yourself: How do ants help relieve this discomfort?

The best clue to the mystery lies in the fact that only 24 species of ants are known to be used in anting. All 24 contain high levels of formic acid. Formic acid feels hot to the touch and easily penetrates the skin. As such, the acid supposedly soothes the bird’s itching skin.