This is Birdnove.

The world is full of poisonous creatures.

Some butterflies, beetles, and frogs use bright colors to warn birds and other predators

that they are full of toxins.

But you might be surprised to learn that some birds are poisonous too.

The hooded pitahoe is a bird that lives in New Guinea and eats a toxic beetle.

The pitahoees aren't sensitive to the beetles' toxin, so they can accumulate large amounts

of it in their skin and feathers.

Scientists examine the chemicals from pitahoe feathers and identify the same type of toxin

found in poison-dark frogs.

Like the birds, the frogs may also gain their chemical defenses from eating insects.

But pitahoees aren't the only birds that pack a toxic punch.

When roughed grouse eat a plant called Mountain Laurel, they pick up a poisonous compound that

can make them an unappetizing meal for a fox or a human hunter.

And quail in the eastern hemisphere sometimes snack on hemlock, turning them into a very

upsetting dinner item.

Many predators like to eat birds, making the world a pretty dangerous place for them.

But evolution has made some birds a little dangerous too.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.