Poisonous Birds
Poisonous Birds
In recent years, scientists have found that some birds might have warning colors—and that the birds are not only distasteful but also poisonous. the birds they studied live in rainforests in New Guinea.
One of these birds is the hooded pitohui, an orange bird with a black face and tail and black wings. in 1990, a researcher who licked his finger after being scratched by a pitohui reported that his tongue and lips tingled, burned, and then went numb for a few hours.
After more research, scientists found that the pitohui’s feathers and skin contained poison. smaller amounts of poison were also found in some of the birds’ muscles and organs. Furthermore, it was the same kind of poison found in poison dart frogs.
Peopleliving in New Guinea’s forests already knew to avoid the pitohui. they called it the “garbage bird” and told scientists that just being near it made them sneeze and made their noses, mouths, and eyes burn. people who ate the birds felt sick to their stomachs.
Scientists now want to find out how the birds became poisonous. they have found the same poison in a red-andblack beetle that pitohuis eat, so the birds might have become poisonous by eating poison themselves.
Since 1990, other species of poisonous pitohuis have been studied. scientists have also found that another new guinean bird, the blue-capped ifrita, contains the same poison. Again, the native people already knew this. their word for this species means “bitter bird.”
In recent years, scientists have found that some birds might have warning colors—and that the birds are not only distasteful but also poisonous. the birds they studied live in rainforests in New Guinea.
One of these birds is the hooded pitohui, an orange bird with a black face and tail and black wings. in 1990, a researcher who licked his finger after being scratched by a pitohui reported that his tongue and lips tingled, burned, and then went numb for a few hours.
After more research, scientists found that the pitohui’s feathers and skin contained poison. smaller amounts of poison were also found in some of the birds’ muscles and organs. Furthermore, it was the same kind of poison found in poison dart frogs.
Peopleliving in New Guinea’s forests already knew to avoid the pitohui. they called it the “garbage bird” and told scientists that just being near it made them sneeze and made their noses, mouths, and eyes burn. people who ate the birds felt sick to their stomachs.
Scientists now want to find out how the birds became poisonous. they have found the same poison in a red-andblack beetle that pitohuis eat, so the birds might have become poisonous by eating poison themselves.
Since 1990, other species of poisonous pitohuis have been studied. scientists have also found that another new guinean bird, the blue-capped ifrita, contains the same poison. Again, the native people already knew this. their word for this species means “bitter bird.”
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