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  • What bird enjoys taking "dirt baths"?

    From Leon Fisk@21:1/5 to super70s@super70s.invalid on Thu Jul 16 17:38:39 2020
    On Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:18:17 -0500
    super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:

    Over the years I've noticed there's a certain type of bird that likes
    to flail around in a thin patch of loose dirt beside the road in front
    of my house. I don't know what benefit it gets from it because it
    doesn't seem to be foraging for food. It's about the size of a Cardinal >except a little fatter, light brown with light underparts. I was
    thinking it might be a Brown Thrasher or a Wood Thrush.

    It's pretty common. See:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_bathing

    --
    Leon Fisk
    Grand Rapids MI

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  • From Savageduck@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jul 16 14:47:26 2020
    On Jul 16, 2020, super70s wrote
    (in article <reqg6p$th1$1@dont-email.me>):

    Over the years I've noticed there's a certain type of bird that likes
    to flail around in a thin patch of loose dirt beside the road in front
    of my house. I don't know what benefit it gets from it because it
    doesn't seem to be foraging for food. It's about the size of a Cardinal except a little fatter, light brown with light underparts. I was
    thinking it might be a Brown Thrasher or a Wood Thrush.

    In my yard the most common dirt bathers are California Quail.

    Of course Quail are not easily mistaken for Thrashers, or Thrush so I doubt that they are your dirt bathing birds.

    --
    Regards,
    Savageduck

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  • From super70s@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jul 16 16:18:17 2020
    Over the years I've noticed there's a certain type of bird that likes
    to flail around in a thin patch of loose dirt beside the road in front
    of my house. I don't know what benefit it gets from it because it
    doesn't seem to be foraging for food. It's about the size of a Cardinal
    except a little fatter, light brown with light underparts. I was
    thinking it might be a Brown Thrasher or a Wood Thrush.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From jmcquown@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jul 16 18:54:44 2020
    On 7/16/2020 5:18 PM, super70s wrote:
    Over the years I've noticed there's a certain type of bird that likes to flail around in a thin patch of loose dirt beside the road in front of
    my house. I don't know what benefit it gets from it because it doesn't
    seem to be foraging for food. It's about the size of a Cardinal except a little fatter, light brown with light underparts. I was thinking it
    might be a Brown Thrasher or a Wood Thrush.

    They're taking a "dust bath".

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_bathing

    The reason they do that is to smother any mites and other bugs that are otherwise making the birds itch like crazy. Instinctual, I"m sure.

    Good luck on the search for which of those birds might be using your dirt.

    The birds I've seen taking "dust baths" in my back yard in South
    Carolina were some form of finch. Red or House finch. The sandy soil
    was very dry.

    Jill

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  • From super70s@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jul 16 23:36:04 2020
    Well at least I found out there's a method to their madness! I did not
    realize this habit was so common across so many bird species, even has
    it's own Wiki page.

    Still wiggling around in the dirt on a day that must have a 100 degree
    heat index does not seem appealing, but maybe the dirt helps them cool
    down somehow. Also shows what hardy creatures they can be sometimes.

    Thanks everyone for your input.

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