Female house sparrow dust bathing (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
11 April 2025
Though we may not have seen them doing it, a variety of birds and mammals(*) bathe in dust to remove parasites from their skin, feathers and fur. House sparrows are the most common city critters to engage in this activity but, as Liberta Cherguia @MbarkCherguia describes below, it can be hard to capture them on video.
Learn more about this activity and why house sparrows in particular choose this way to bathe.
(*) p.s. Did you know that horses like to take dust baths? According to Wikipedia, racing stable yards traditionally include a sand roll area for use by the racehorses after exercise.
I can vouch that horses like to take dust baths. As a matter of fact, I can almost guarantee that if you hose a horse off after riding on a warm day and then turn them out into the pasture, the first thing they will do is find a dusty bare spot and roll in it 🙂