Before he flew off

J.I. Kleinberg

I saw him first through the window,
the Steller’s Jay akimbo on the lawn,
head tilted to the side, beak wide,
crest nearly touching the grass, wings
flung. Dead, I thought, owled or hawked,
cat-caught, or simply through with life.

But by the time I got outside, phone
readied for photos, he had moved a bit,
still alive, and I could see the gloss,
rachis and vane, the cobalt fan of him,
showing himself off, showing the sky
how to be blue.

The Science

The locally common Steller’s Jay is demonstrating a behaviour known as anting. Observed among some 200 species of birds, anting takes two primary forms: active and passive. In the active form, the bird clasps an ant in its bill and rubs the insect through its feathers; the exact purpose of this activity is still debated. Some scientists maintain that this causes the ant to release much of its formic acid, thereby making the ant more palatable; the preferred theory is that the formic acid acts as an insecticide or antibacterial. The second and less common form of anting behaviour, described in the poem, is passive. In this form, the bird takes a sprawling posture on the ground in an area frequented by ants and allows the insects to crawl among its feathers; again, this may repel parasites or it may be part of normal grooming, especially during the moult. Much of what is known about anting has been observed among captive birds.

The Poet

J.I. Kleinberg is the author of The Word for Standing Alone in a Field (Bottlecap, 2023), How to Pronounce the Wind (Paper View, 2023), Desire’s Authority (Ravenna Triple No. 23, 2023), She Needs the River (Poem Atlas, 2024), and Sleeping Lessons (Milk & Cake, 2025). All of We is forthcoming from Anhinga Press. An artist, poet, and freelance writer, she lives in Bellingham, Washington, USA.

Next poem: Insomniac Daydreams of St Kilda by Susan Darlington