Pitohuis
While banding birds deep within a Papua New Guinean
tropical forest, Jack Dumbacher, now a research associate
at the National Zoo, was scratched by a bright orange
and brown bird called a hooded pitohui (Pitohui
dichrous). After handling the bird, Dumbacher touched
his hand to his mouth and felt a strong tingle. As Dumbacher
suspected, and he and other researchers later confirmed,
this common bird carries a toxin. Years after this 1989
revelation, Dumbacher continues to study pitohuis to
unravel the mysteries of how and why they acquire batrachotoxins
(BTX), the same type of substance found in the skin
of New World poison dart frogs. It is now known that
several pitohui species and another New Guinean bird
called the blue-capped ifrita (Ifrita kowaldi)
carry BTX. The scientists think the birds use the substance
to protect themselves from parasites and possibly predators.
No one yet knows how the birds acquire the toxin—from
insects, plants, or a combination of food sources. Chasing
the answers, Dumbacher and other scientists keep returning
to New Guinea in search of toxic birds.
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Poisonous skin
helps protect the hooded pitohui (below). |
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| The birds aren't the only poisonous creatures in Papua New Guinea (below) a scorpion. |
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In some villages, ecotourists and researchers enjoy luxury accommodations (left)... |
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...but with few airstrips or roads most destinations require a journey by dugout canoe (motor powered or otherwise). |
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ZooGoer 32(2) 2003.
Copyright 2003 Friends of the National Zoo.
All rights reserved.
