That's something not even Hitchcock imagined! So, if you ever find a Pitohui dichrous, or a hooded pitohui - as it is commonly called -, in New Guinea, don't let it get very near you! Its skin and feathers have a toxic compound called Homobatracotoxin, a powerful neurotoxic alkaloid that can paralise several muscles, including cardiac ones! It can also cause numbness, paralisis of the affected members and even death.
Scientists belive that the toxin comes from the Melyridae family beetles - which the birds prey upon. It is basically the same phenomenon observed in the Dendrobatidae frogs from Central and South America, in which feeding is the source of the toxins found on the animals.
Scientists belive that the toxin comes from the Melyridae family beetles - which the birds prey upon. It is basically the same phenomenon observed in the Dendrobatidae frogs from Central and South America, in which feeding is the source of the toxins found on the animals.
~Ally
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