Large-billed crows ( <i>Corvus macrorhynchos</i> ) anting with the yellow crazy ant ( <i>Anoplolepis gracilipes</i> )

Anting is a behavior in which birds apply ants to their plumage. Because the function of anting remains unresolved, documenting the ant species involved in anting is important for understanding the ecological and behavioral contexts of this behavior. Here, we report three observations of anting by the Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) on Kuroshima Island, Yaeyama Archipelago, Japan. In one case, we identified the ants involved as the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), a species with invasive characteristics whose status in the Yaeyama Archipelago is debated. These observations add to the limited information on ant species used in anting by Large-billed Crows and on anting in subtropical island systems.