dust-bath

British  

noun

1. the action of a bird of driving dust into its feathers, which may dislodge parasites

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Example Sentences

I dwell with a strangely aching heart In that vanished abode there far apart On that disused and forgotten road That has no dust-bath now for the toad.

From A Boy's Will by Frost, Robert

Overhead the chicken-hawk is the only creature at work, and his shrill kite-like call sends the gaping chickens from the dust-bath in haste to their mothers.

From Letters of Travel (1892-1913) by Kipling, Rudyard

Paths and roads are highly scratchable objects, hence they are largely resorted to for food; further, they are used for the purpose of the daily dust-bath in which every self-respecting fowl indulges.

From Birds of the Indian Hills by Dewar, Douglas

The nests should be in rows around the room, the feeding and water-troughs in the centre, with the dust-bath at one end.

From Natural and Artificial Duck Culture by Rankin, James

When her brood begins to lag and pine, the wild mother knows, and leading them to some old ant-hill, she gives them a sousing dust-bath.

From Children's Literature A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes by Clippinger, Erle Elsworth