Poisonous Birds

The world is full of poisonous snakes, poisonous frogs, poisonous fish, and poisonous BIRDS?! That's right, a poisonous bird. There are actually a handful of poisonous birds in the world. The first one that was discovered was the hooded pitohui which has two close relatives (Variable Pitohui & Brown Pitohui). These birds are songbirds that live on the island of New Guinea. These birds contain dangerous neurotoxin alkaloids and another poison similar to that of poison dart frogs. It is thought that the birds developed the toxin, which is stored in the birds feathers and skin, to ward off parasites and larger predators. These birds are just another example of the great biodiversity of Earth.

Hooded Pitohui