Bird's rubbing themselves with dust

[lovejoy0120]

Today I saw birds rubbing themselves in this dry,dusty broken up mud in the garden.My brother said it was because they were cleaning themselves but that sounds rather ironic.
Anyone know why they do this ?

Thanks

[shaneystar2]

Have a look
Here
I often see blackbirds flat out in the garden !

[wildwood]

Dust bathing is a normal pastime of many bird species. It annoys the parasites on the skin so they leave the bird. Some more adventurous birds rub their skin with ants which release acid, this annoys the parasites too so they leave. A few use smoke from chimneys, or even a smoking sigarette butt to delouse themselves. There are authentic reports of birds catching on fire becase they were playing with fire - hence the phoenix.