The hooded pitohui (Pitohui
dichrous) is a pitohui of New Guinea is one of few recognized poisonous birds
in the world. Both male & female have black and orange patches in their
plumage. This bird is normally placed in the family Oriolidae, and its close
relatives are variable pitohui and rusty pitohui. The bird, hooded pitohui is
about the size of a blue jay and is familiar to local villagers and
ornithologists alike. But only now have scientists learned that the bird
harbors a poison. Pitohuis are normally about 23 cm long with strong legs and a
powerful beak.
Therefore, the first known
poisonous bird is “common quail” that cause coturnism. So, neurotoxin named
“homobatrachotoxin”, found in the birds' skin and feathers, causes numbness and
tingling in those touching the bird. It is believed, that bird has taken
poisons from their diet, which is mainly comprises of Choresine beetles of the
Melyridae family. These exclusive beetles are probably source of lethal
batrachotoxins found in Colombia’s poison dart frogs. Moreover this species
population is not quantified but believed not approaching thresholds for
vulnerable. The hooded pitohui is common and widespread in New Guinea and is
evaluated as least concern on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species.
This is unbelievable that a bird
had never before found an example of a bird using a chemical defense against
its enemies. However, fish, amphibians, insects, and reptiles are well equipped
with noxious compounds that make them repugnant, but birds were thought to rely
on fast flight to escape being eaten. Indisputably, there are other bird
species that have chemical self-defense mechanisms to stop predators from
eating them, but to date, this is the only bird found to actually be poisonous
to humans. However, the natives of New Guinea do eat them, but tip off they
must be prepared very prudently, including skinning. So the bird has been
labeled to the venomous creatures of the earth.
