#hooded pitohui

[siravalon]

Bird of the Week: The Hooded Pitohui! 🪶

The hooded pitohui, an old world oriole, is a truly unique bird. They are one of the few, quite literally, toxic birds. Within the skin and feather tissues of the hooded pitohui are batrachotoxins; they are believed to come from the choresine beetles that the pitohuis consume.

Hooded pitohuis can be found throughout forested areas of New Guinea. Their diet consists of plant material such as fruits, nuts, and berries, as well as the beetles that give them their infamous toxin.

[freaksnature]

Weird Birds

all birds are weird cause they're reptiles but here are especially weird birds

Hooded Pitohui - Pitohui dichrous LC

poisonous bird, scientist confirmed if you touch it then touch your fingers to your mouth it makes your mouth numb, important science

American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus LC

looks like normal bird, lies only genus of semi-aquatic song bird flies through water

Bearded Vulture/Lammergeier - Gypaetus barbatus NT

primarily eats bones, generally terrifying

Magnificent Frigatebird - Fregata magnificens LC

thinks it's a frog, speaks for itself

Resplendent Quetzal - Pharomachrus mocinno NT

actually an aztec god will sing again when land if free from Spanish rule

American Woodcock - Scolopax minor LC

actual nicknames include memebird, timberdoodle, mudbat bogsucker, night partridge and labrador twister, slowest flying bird 8km/h 5mph

Oilbird/Guácharo - Steatornis caripensis LC

birds that decided to become bats, live in colonies in caves, nocturnal, uses echolocation to navigate, eats fruit, who wore it better

Shoebill - Balaeniceps rex VU

actual dinosaur related to pelicans, carnivorous, makes terrifying clacking noises with beak

Hoatzin - Opisthocomus hoazin LC

stink bird, capable of fermentation digestion similar to ruminant mammals, chicks have two functional claws on wings

Maleo - Macrocephalon maleo CR EN

deadbeat parents bury their eggs in sand and leave, chicks digs it's way out dries off and within hours can fly

[threshasketch]

Yes, I'm still thinking about the Hooded Pitohui and how it's the first scientifically documented poisonous bird. It's also a corvid, and it's super cute!

[spacefinch]

here’s an actually bird related ask: ¿any thoughts on the hooded pitohui or mike the headless chicken?

The hooded pitohui is a really cool bird! Its feathers have poison in them, and it has a nice Halloween color scheme going on.

Look at him. Such a cool bird.

Regarding Mike the Headless Chicken: I literally just looked him up and I have no regrets.

He even has an official holiday in the town of Fruita, Colorado!

[officialweezerelections]

BRACKET D

Guinean Cock-Of-The-Rock (Rupicola rupicola)

Here he is. The gayest bird.

VERSUS

Hooded Pitohui (Pitohui dichrous)

These things are poisonous! Their entire bodies are loaded with toxins that they spread on themselves! Very cool!

[cockmoment-theblog]

Round 1, Match 9 - Hooded Pitohui Vs. Tawny Frogmouth

All propaganda is welcome in replies/reblogs!

[finisnihil]

I am evil bird girl. I know 1928384949494 birds and they are all fucked up and will never see the gates of heaven

[proton-wobbler]

Hooded Pitohui (Pitohui dichrous)

"THEYRE SO COOL!!!!!! they’re one of the few types of poisonous bird, with toxin in their skin + feathers !! their toxin isn’t strong enough to kill a human, but it can cause numbness, tingling, and even burning sensations if held. i just think these lil guys are neat :)" "POISONOUS BIRD how cool is that"

The poison found in this bird's skin and feathers are a batrachotoxin, the same type that are used by poison dart frogs! It is thought these are derived from the diet, and that they both protect the Pitohui from predators and parasites.

Another cool thing about these birds is that they are cooperative breeders, with different members of a family group helping to protect a single nest and to feed the young. They're also social in other ways, leading mixed-species foraging flocks through the forest.

Sources:

Image Source: eBird ( Frédéric PELSY)

[animals-i-think-are-cool]

jan 5 - hooded pitohui

first bird of the year!!! since i forgot what animal i was originally going to do i looked up poisonous animals and found a poisonous bird!!!!! that’s so cool!!!!!!!!

this bird contains toxins in many tissues, which come from the poisonous insects they eat: choresine beetles! it shares this toxin compound with the golden poison frog. there are ranging theories as to what the poison is for, some saying it is to deter predators and others that it helps with parasites. they tend to have fewer parasites on them than other birds in the same area.

they live in groups and are thankfully very stable in conservation status! other birds mimic its appearance to make it seem like they’re poisonous, something called batesian mimicry! i didn’t know that had a name. the poison is not very strong to humans, only causing numb and burning sensations. i feel bad for the guy who first figured that out.

toxicity in birds is so interesting! i wonder how they’re able to convert the poison in their diet to something that coats their skin and feathers.

apparently quails can be poisonous too??? i will look into that for tomorrow…

rating: 10/10. how often am i allowed to make a hatoful joke on this blog?

[bird-week]

[thecreatureawaits]

Creature Awaits #229

Each week I plan to feature an amazing creature, admiring God's fantastic artistry. Hopefully it’ll brighten someone’s day to see something new and interesting if they haven’t seen it before. : )

Continuing our October series.. "Cute…but Deadly" : )

(Still taken by accomplished photographer, Nik Borrow (CC BY-NC 2.0 Deed))

The Hooded Pitohui

Scientific Name: Pitohui dichrous

Region: New Guinea

Size: About 8.7"-9.1" (~22cm-23cm) from head through tail

Interesting Notes: Though appearing sweet and innocuous, if you happen to see this bird when in New Guinea, do not hold or pet it! Oddly enough, it is one of few, documented truly poisonous birds - the first discovered to contain toxins in its skin. The specific toxin is called homobatrachotoxin, one in the same family as those found in some poison frogs in the Americas. It causes burning and sharper pains when handling the birds, and much more dire consequences if one attempts to eat them.

[mattibee]

First set of buggies from Ko-Fi!! Thank you all so much!! 💖🐛🐛🐛

A tasty Melyrid Beetle for "Hooded Pitohui" A Wooly Aphid fairy for @okayrigamarole And an extra squishy Moon Snail for @khan-crete!

[cleocatrablossy]

An attempt was made

[threshasketch]

I drew that cute poison bird, the Hooded Pitohui. It's basically a poison dart crow. Inspired by this Tumblr post here and neat pics I found on DuckDuckGo.

[teecupangel]

Seeing so many animal Desmond tropes and I can't believe no one suggested the hooded pitohui. Some people thought pitohui!Desmond was being dumb when he didn't fly away but jokes on them when most people became paralyzed, some died, but no one believed it to be Desmond's fault except the Assassins he hangs around.

If the name sounds familiar, you might have heard of the hooded pitohui from this tumblr post.

As hooded pitohuis are mostly known for having black and orange plumage, just imagine Desmond to be more on the black and Assassin red plumage.

For this one, Desmond’s toxicity is a special case in the sense that he can amplify or weaken the poison he emits as there is some Isu Bullshit involved but in general…

We all know hooded pitohuis are toxic but Assassins (and Templars) before modern day didn’t so…

Altaïr: Definitely felt the numbness and the burning sensation when he handled Desmond for the first time. Instead of going “Oh, this is bad”, he definitely did experiments with Desmond which includes getting samples of Desmond’s feathers from various parts of his body and checking where the numbness originates from. Would definitely rub Desmond on his throwing knives and blades. Would absolutely get some poor crusader or guard to lick Desmond just to see how bad Desmond’s poison can get. (Desmond agrees to all of these ‘experiments’ because Altaïr also gives the best berries and shares his own food to Desmond)

Ezio: Didn’t know Desmond was poisonous until Leonardo told him. Leonardo also did experiments with Desmond and the poison blade is based on Desmond’s poison (thanks to Altaïr’s experiments). Definitely licked his hand after touching Desmond because Leonardo told him to.

Ratonhnhaké:ton: Learned Desmond is poisonous after observing him sitting on Haytham’s shoulder and rubbing his bird body against Haytham’s cheek. Also… Haytham was immobilized for hours. Hard not to understand that Desmond was poisonous after that. Doesn’t make Desmond poison his weapons nor ask for any poisoned feathers. On the other hand, Desmond makes a good hunting companion who can easily numb their prey enough that Ratonhnhaké:ton can take them down. They have a relationship similar to a wolf and a corvid. Absolutely never tried to lick his hands after touching Desmond, who the hell does that???

Edward: It is an unwritten rule not to shoot down seabirds in ships and some, like Edward, practice the whole ‘do not shoot birds EVER’ tradition that some sailors/pirates do. So when there’s this small black and red bird that starts flying near him, Edward just makes sure that he doesn’t shoot it. Edward never learns that Desmond is toxic. He consider the bird a sign that he was going to be lucky today, mostly believing the guards are groggy or sick because they’re still drunk. It’s only after he actually joined the Brotherhood that he learns of the poisonous bird of legends and went “Oooohhhh…”. He definitely licked his hands after touching Desmond and it was by accident and he just thought that the latest rum he drank was special.

Shay: Liam definitely dared him to lick his hand after touching Desmond. Hope told him not to do it. He absolutely did. He still sees the bird at times even after he defected but the bird never comes near him again. The only time it ever comes near is when it sits on Master Kenway’s shoulder. Shay had to help Master Kenway once more twice after being poisoned by the bird though.

Arno: The poison the Brotherhood uses is based on Desmond’s poison. They don’t normally interact though but Desmond had been kind enough to let Arno rub his blades against his feathers whenever he becomes low on poisoned ammo. No. Arno did not lick his hand after touching Desmond. He wasn’t stupid. (… he might have tried to rub his face on Desmond’s fur after Élise broke up with him but he was drunk so that shouldn’t count!)

Evie and Jacob: They both heard of the poisoned bird of legends, of course. Desmond likes to fly around them whenever they have a mission. Evie told Jacob not to lick his hand after holding Desmond. Jacob stared at Evie dead in the eye as he licked… Desmond himself. It was very traumatizing for everyone involved.

[officialweezerelections]

BRACKET D

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)

They look a bit strange with their big red chests. They make other birds vomit by pecking them just so that they can eat whatever comes back up.

VERSUS

Hooded Pitohui (Pitohui dichrous)

These things are poisonous! Their entire bodies are loaded with toxins that they spread on themselves! Very cool!