Stoic Deer Couldn’t Care Less That Birds Are Pecking at It (Video)

Imagine minding your business when suddenly, a couple of birds land on you and start pecking at your face, head, and neck. All good, right? Maybe not, unless you’re the red deer in a recent video from Lawrence Chatton, a wildlife photographer who takes photos in England. The deer in Chatton’s video is enjoying “nature’s salon”—or, at least, the deer is tolerating it. It’s hard to tell when the deer’s face looks so very stoic as the birds peck at it.

“Symbiosis at its finest,” Chatton writes in his Instagram post sharing the video earlier this month. “A stoic red deer and her personal grooming squad. Nature’s teamwork in action!”

BBC Earth also shared Chatton’s video, saying: “While not the likeliest of friends, this red deer and these jackdaws have a symbiotic relationship: the jackdaws feed on parasites like ticks and fleas from the deer’s coat, benefitting from a consistent food source while relieving the deer from pests. They may also collect fur shed by moulting red deer to use as nesting material.”

So, although being pecked by a jackdaw doesn’t sound so nice to us humans, the red deer has good reason for letting it happen. The birds are getting rid of some pests that are much more of a nuisance.

See birds peck at a deer that couldn’t care less here:

Imagine minding your business when suddenly, a couple of birds land on you and start pecking at your face, head, and neck. All good, right? Maybe not, unless you’re the red deer in a recent video from Lawrence Chatton, a wildlife photographer who takes photos in England. The deer in Chatton’s video is enjoying “nature’s salon”—or, at least, the deer is tolerating it. It’s hard to tell when the deer’s face looks so very stoic as the birds peck at it.

“Symbiosis at its finest,” Chatton writes in his Instagram post sharing the video earlier this month. “A stoic red deer and her personal grooming squad. Nature’s teamwork in action!”

BBC Earth also shared Chatton’s video, saying: “While not the likeliest of friends, this red deer and these jackdaws have a symbiotic relationship: the jackdaws feed on parasites like ticks and fleas from the deer’s coat, benefitting from a consistent food source while relieving the deer from pests. They may also collect fur shed by moulting red deer to use as nesting material.”

So, although being pecked by a jackdaw doesn’t sound so nice to us humans, the red deer has good reason for letting it happen. The birds are getting rid of some pests that are much more of a nuisance.

See birds peck at a deer that couldn’t care less here: