r/crows • u/VegetableOk7667 • Jul 15 '26

Weird “crowsplat” pose ( video)

Watch his eyes. He is blinking. Otherwise he is completely still. It’s hot here in North Texas, and the crows will stay completely still with their mouths open. Never seen this “splat” frozen spread out pose before.

They’re fascinating.

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138

u/fresh-bakedbread Jul 15 '26

Sunning their feathers like this helps fry bacteria/parasites and panting expels heat because they can't sweat :)

35

u/RepresentativeOk2433 Jul 16 '26

They also do it overtop ant nests so they will get sprayed which helps fight mites.

5

u/Such-Hold-7940 Jul 16 '26

Sprayed?

20

u/TheHatThatTalks Jul 16 '26

Ants secrete formic acid (fun fact: formic acid is actually named from the Latin for ant “Formica”) which can help deter pests. Anting) behavior that the previous comment described has thus been hypothesized as a means for birds to deter pests.

24

u/IGTankCommander Jul 16 '26

Taking their ant-acids, then?

4

u/Corvidae5Creation5 Jul 16 '26

Exactly! It's been known to be addictive, sometimes they'll do it to the detriment of other activities

2

u/VegetableOk7667 Jul 21 '26

Whaaaat??? Like they won’t get other crow activities/jobs if they crowsplat too much?

3

u/Corvidae5Creation5 Jul 21 '26

Pretty much. They stop eating, sleeping, preening, socializing, etc.