(ornithology) The practice of some birds of rubbing live ants or occasionally other items into the feathers, possibly as a means of controlling parasites.
1958, Norman Erik Holgersen, The Anting Behavior of Birds, [Ithaca, N.Y.]: unpublished M.S. dissertation, Cornell University, →OCLC, cover title:
The anting behaviour of birds
1993, “Anting Behavior of Boat-tailed Grackles”, in Florida Field Naturalist, volume 21, number 3, Gainesville, Fla.: Florida Ornithological Society, →OCLC, page 76:
2002, Hannah Carrington Revis, Anting Behavior in Birds: Ant Selection and Effect of Ant Chemistry on Feather Ectoparasites, [Norfolk, Va.]: unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Old Dominion University, →OCLC, cover title:
