Hooded Pitohui
|
|
| Hooded Pitohui | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Pitohui dichrous (Bonaparte, 1850) |
The Hooded Pitohui (Pitohui dichrous) is a jay-sized endemic New Guinean songbird with black and orange coloration.
The Hooded Pitohui, and two close relatives (the Variable Pitohui and the Brown Pitohui), are the first documented poisonous birds.
External links
- The Intoxicating Birds of New Guinea by John Tidwell (http://natzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2001/2/intoxnewguineabirds.cfm)
- The Pitohui and the Frog by Robert B. Hole, Jr. (http://www.interaktv.com/articles/pitohui.htm)
According to what I read in MSN Encarta, a neurotoxin called homobatrachotoxin is in the skin and feathers, which caused numbness and tingling in bird-touchers.