Birds cause a stink scattering mothballs in the driveway

Q. I throw mothballs under my car to keep squirrels from chewing on the wiring, but the blackbirds won’t leave them alone! The mothballs end up all over the place. What’s the deal with these blackbirds?

A. As Ms. Oakley might have sung in “Annie Get Your Gun,” they’re just a-doin’ what comes naturally — albeit a little unnaturally in your case.

You may have never heard of it, but ornithologists are fascinated by a behavior in birds called “anting.” Since German researcher Erwin Stresemann first described the practice in 1935, scientists say they have witnessed more than 250 species of birds engage in a ritual of rubbing live ants over their feathers, according to Mike O’Connor at the Bird Watcher’s General Store in Orleans, Mass.

You’re probably thinking it’s a disgusting behavior that truly merits the popular put-down of “birdbrain.” But hold on a moment. Although the birds themselves can’t explain it to us, scientists have come up with a couple of theories that indicate birds may be more intelligent than you might think. (Except, of course, when they start substituting other objects — including mothballs — for ants.)

Here’s the deal: When danger threatens, many ants secrete a smelly substance called formic acid to repel their would-be predators. In fact, O’Connor notes, the name “formic” comes from “formica,” the Latin word for “ant.” Now, this acid isn’t going to help the ant much if a blue jay is out looking for lunch, but it can benefit the bird itself.

For starters, if you look underneath those handsome feathers on a bird, you might find a nasty world teeming with ectoparasites. These pests include mites and fleas, which find a comfortable roost on the bird.

Obviously, the bird can’t fly to Target for a Hartz Mountain flea collar, so it does the next best thing: According to one popular theory, birds grab ants with their bills so they can rub this ant acid (not to be confused with Rolaids, as O’Connor quips) into their feathers, which may cause the parasites to hop off and leave the birds pest-free. Some think the acid may help soothe the bird’s skin from the irritation caused by the mites.

Starlings, tanagers and weavers (to name a few) actively seek out Formicine ants, suggesting that the insects’ ability to spray formic acid is an important consideration. In fact, many scientists have described the birds as becoming “exceedingly excited” during the anting process.

“Some birds also participate in what is known as ‘passive anting,’” O’Connor says of such birds as crows, waxbills and European jays. “The bird will simply plop itself down in the middle of an ant hill, spread out its feathers and let the ants climb all over it. The theory is that the hungry ants will find and eat the parasites while the bird enjoys a few minutes lying in the sun.”

But wait, there’s more! Once the bird is finished spreading the acid on its body, it will simply devour what’s left of the ant as perhaps a treat much as someone might enjoy a piece of chocolate and a glass of champagne in a soapy, hot bath after a hard day at the office. As a result, it is thought that birds have learned through eons of evolution that squeezing out the poisonous acid made the ants safe to eat while leaving the birds’ bodies cleaner as a side benefit. However, which came first is another chicken-or-the egg question, although it has been noted that a bird will eat the ant without rubbing it on his body if scientists remove the acid before the ant is given to the bird.

If ants aren’t handy, the birds will freely substitute, as you yourself have seen firsthand. Some use millipedes or puss moth caterpillars, which also produce powerful defensive chemicals. However, birds have been seen rubbing more than 40 other items over their feathers, including lemons, walnuts, apple peels — and mothballs.

“Even more bizarre is ‘smoke bathing,’” EcoPort says. “Birds such as rooks have been observed standing on smoking chimneys with their wings spread open in a similar posture to some birds when anting. Birds have also been seen to use smoking cigarette butts for anting. On other occasions, both houses and trees have been set alight by birds taking live cigarettes back to their nests. No one really knows why.”

A serious conclusion: While my answer has been somewhat lighthearted, you (and everyone else) should know that using mothballs as you do is strictly illegal, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They are a registered pesticide and can be used only as prescribed on the product. If a neighbor’s pet — or child — would eat your mothballs and become sick or die, you could face your own stink that would make a mothball smell pleasant by comparison.

Today’s trivia

Who played singer Madonna’s father in her 1986 music video “Papa Don’t Preach” — and what song did he write in reply?

Answer to Sunday’s trivia: When herring are small, they are often called “sardines” because they originally became popular when they were caught off the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea.

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 8:25 AM with the headline "Birds cause a stink scattering mothballs in the driveway."