A Canadian photographer Tony Austin captured a unique crow activity known as “anting” by mistake. The crow rests on the gravel in the iconic film, and hundreds of ants have taken over its body. Turkeys were the first to exhibit this behavior in the 1830s. That day, Tony was at Victoria’s Swan Lake Nature Reserve when a swarm of crows approached him.
The crow took a leap into the air before landing on the gravel walkway. His actions struck Tony as odd. He believed he was in peril, but none of the other crows worried , and they all flew and landed in nearby trees after a minute or two.
Austin snapped a couple close-up photos. When he got home, he expanded the image on the monitor and found that the crow was covered with ants.
Then he posted images on Facebook that he understood the scope of what he had captured. Scientists discovered that this behavior, known as “anting,” is highly unusual and confusing.
This habit was originally observed in turkeys in the middle of the nineteenth century. Experts haven’t figured out why the birds act the way they do since then. A commonly accepted notion is that birds employ ants to calm sore skin during seasons of high feather shedding. According to another notion, ants aid in the management of parasites that live in the feathers of birds. The photographer confesses that photography has always been his love and would be. In his opinion photography educates people in every sides.
Austin considers ‘’anting’’ as a memorable experience for him.
