Hooded pitohui

The hooded pitohui (Pitohui dichrous), is a songbird of New Guinea with black and orange plumage.

Hooded pitohui
A hooded pitohui

The hooded pitohui (Pitohui dichrous), is a songbird of New Guinea with black and orange plumage.

This species and its two close relatives, the variable pitohui and the brown pitohui, were the first known poisonous birds. A neurotoxin found in the birds' skin and feathers causes numbness and tingling in those touching the bird.

The hooded pitohui gets its poison from part of its diet, the Choresine beetles of the Melyridae family. These beetles are also a likely source of the lethal batrachotoxins found in Colombia's poison dart frogs.[1]

Common and widespread throughout New Guinea, the hooded pitohui is of 'Least Concern' on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.

References

  1. ↑ Dumbacher J.P. et al 2004. Melyrid beetles (Choresine): a putative source for the Batrachotoxin alkaloids found in poison-dart frogs and toxic passerine birds. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101 (45): 15857–15860. [1]

Content Disclaimer

Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.

  1. The information displayed on this website is sourced in part or in whole from Wikipedia and has been adapted for the purpose of restating it. We strive to provide accurate and relevant information, however:
  2. There is no guarantee of absolute accuracy. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative project that can be edited by anyone, so information is subject to change.
  3. It is not intended to constitute professional advice. The content displayed is for informational and educational purposes only. For important decisions (e.g., medical, legal, or financial), please consult a professional.
  4. Content copyright. Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). This means that content may be reused with appropriate attribution and shared under a similar license.
  5. Responsible use. Any risk arising from the use of information from this website is entirely the responsibility of the user.