Participant Photo: Balding and Anting

The first bald bird I’ve ever seen. There are six Steller’s Jays who live in my backyard, and this one showed up bald one day in July!

The next day Mr. Baldy (left) demonstrated a behaviour that was also a first for me: “anting”. He laid out spread eagle on the ground, and I thought “poor Baldy is biting the dust”. But no. His mate came to join him and Google tells me ants and bugs secrete a liquid that is helpful for cleaning the birds’ feathers.