anting
n.— «The behavior you witnessed, Mona, is called “anting.” I know it seems like it should be called “mothballing,” but anting is much easier to say. Plus, more often than not, birds rub their feathers with ants.…Over 250 different species of birds have been observed rubbing live ants over their feathers.… Birds have also been known to use over 40 other items to rub over their feathers. The list includes beetles, millipedes, lemons, walnuts, cigarette butts, and in some fashionable cities, Old Spice.» —“The anting antics of grackles” Cape Codder (Massachusetts) Aug. 11, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The word muckle means “grab, seize, or tackle and hold tight,” and it’s especially associated with New Hampshire, Maine, and parts of Massachusetts. Eric from Monroe, New Hampshire, says most people he’s talked with have never heard of it, but his...
The bird known as the predicted ant wren was indeed predicted: Genetic analysis of birds in the Western Amazon convinced biologists that an undescribed species of ant wren was living there, so they went looking. In 2013 they found it exactly where...