The hooded pitohui is one of the few known toxic birds. Like poison dart frogs, it builds up toxins in its body — likely from beetles that it eats — storing them most potently in its feathers which can cause an itching, burning and numbing sensation when touched.
Endemic to the islands of New Guinea, the pitohui’s name comes from a local word which translates to, more or less, “rubbish bird.” This is not a character judgement, but a reference to the pitohui’s inedibility as a result of its unexpected toxicity.
The hooded pitohui doesn’t produce toxins, but is instead thought to get them from a group of metallic flower beetles in the genus [*Choresine*](https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Melyrid-beetles-(Choresine)%3A-a-putative-source-for-Dumbacher-Wako/a908b53307e47bd6dd987a59471bf7494171c75e), which it consumes. In this way, it is similar to poison dart frogs — who likewise aren’t inherently toxic.
Indeed, the pitohui is more like those infamously poisonous frogs than you might expect (given the distant relation between the two): both animals accumulate the same type of toxins, batrachotoxins, although in different forms.
Batrachotoxins are among the deadliest group of compounds to be found in nature: fast-acting and ultra potent, with \~2 milligrams sufficiently lethal to kill an adult human. But the worst a hooded pitohui can do — through contact with its skin and feathers — is some numbness, itching, and burning. Given that toxicity depends on diet, and diet fluctuates with range, the potency of each individual pitohui also varies.
The low toxicity of the pitohui may well deter predators from consuming it, but it seemingly also acts as a parasite repellent. Comparing the tick-loads of multiple bird groups in the wild, the hooded pitohui was found to carry among the lowest concentrations of these blood-sucking parasites, and those ticks that did infect toxic pitohui feathers lived shorter lifespans.
Birds likely aren’t the first thing you think when you think of toxic animals, but there are actually a fair handful that we know of, including a few [other pitohui species](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7941-Pitohui), [blue-capped ifrit](https://ebird.org/species/bucifr1), the[ shrike-thrushes](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/980118-Colluricincla), the[ regent whistler](https://ebird.org/species/regwhi1), and the[ rufous-naped bellbird](https://ebird.org/species/runwhi1) — all native to New Guinea. (The [common quail](https://ebird.org/species/comqua1) can also be toxic, likely because of some plant that it eats during migration, but its toxicity only becomes apparent when one tries to eat it.)
At high elevations, [Papuan babblers](https://ebird.org/species/negbab1) join up with flocks led by toxic variable pitohuis or hooded pitohuis, even supposedly making the same vocalisations, quite effectively blending in with their poisonous partners. One researcher belatedly noted that “after 200 hours of observation ... I finally realised that not all rufous birds’ \[in the flock\] were the same species” [(Bell, 1982)](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1071/MU9820007).
**Learn more about the hooded pitohui and the evolution of toxicity** [**here!**](https://www.curiousspecies.com/my-species/hooded-pitohui)
Endemic to the islands of New Guinea, the pitohui’s name comes from a local word which translates to, more or less, “rubbish bird.” This is not a character judgement, but a reference to the pitohui’s inedibility as a result of its unexpected toxicity.
The hooded pitohui doesn’t produce toxins, but is instead thought to get them from a group of metallic flower beetles in the genus [*Choresine*](https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Melyrid-beetles-(Choresine)%3A-a-putative-source-for-Dumbacher-Wako/a908b53307e47bd6dd987a59471bf7494171c75e), which it consumes. In this way, it is similar to poison dart frogs — who likewise aren’t inherently toxic.
Indeed, the pitohui is more like those infamously poisonous frogs than you might expect (given the distant relation between the two): both animals accumulate the same type of toxins, batrachotoxins, although in different forms.
Batrachotoxins are among the deadliest group of compounds to be found in nature: fast-acting and ultra potent, with \~2 milligrams sufficiently lethal to kill an adult human. But the worst a hooded pitohui can do — through contact with its skin and feathers — is some numbness, itching, and burning. Given that toxicity depends on diet, and diet fluctuates with range, the potency of each individual pitohui also varies.
The low toxicity of the pitohui may well deter predators from consuming it, but it seemingly also acts as a parasite repellent. Comparing the tick-loads of multiple bird groups in the wild, the hooded pitohui was found to carry among the lowest concentrations of these blood-sucking parasites, and those ticks that did infect toxic pitohui feathers lived shorter lifespans.
Birds likely aren’t the first thing you think when you think of toxic animals, but there are actually a fair handful that we know of, including a few [other pitohui species](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7941-Pitohui), [blue-capped ifrit](https://ebird.org/species/bucifr1), the[ shrike-thrushes](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/980118-Colluricincla), the[ regent whistler](https://ebird.org/species/regwhi1), and the[ rufous-naped bellbird](https://ebird.org/species/runwhi1) — all native to New Guinea. (The [common quail](https://ebird.org/species/comqua1) can also be toxic, likely because of some plant that it eats during migration, but its toxicity only becomes apparent when one tries to eat it.)
At high elevations, [Papuan babblers](https://ebird.org/species/negbab1) join up with flocks led by toxic variable pitohuis or hooded pitohuis, even supposedly making the same vocalisations, quite effectively blending in with their poisonous partners. One researcher belatedly noted that “after 200 hours of observation ... I finally realised that not all rufous birds’ \[in the flock\] were the same species” [(Bell, 1982)](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1071/MU9820007).
**Learn more about the hooded pitohui and the evolution of toxicity** [**here!**](https://www.curiousspecies.com/my-species/hooded-pitohui)
www.semanticscholar.org
[PDF] Melyrid beetles (Choresine): a putative source for the batrachotoxin alkaloids found in poison-dart frogs and toxic passerine…
The presence of high levels of batrachotoxins in a little-studied group of beetles, genus Choresine (family Melyridae), and their high toxin concentrations suggest that they might provide a toxin source for the New Guinea birds. Batrachotoxins are neurotoxic…
In some areas, 35% of the Japanese squirrel's diet is made up of walnuts. The squirrel is more likely to hoard larger nuts and is more willing to carry them farther in order to cache them — this may have resulted in walnuts evolving larger sizes in areas where this squirrel lives.
The Japanese squirrel is diurnal, most active in the early morning and late afternoon. It can most often be seen in the trees and is capable of jumping up to 10 metres (33 ft) while travelling between the branches.
This squirrel is particularly fond of Japanese walnuts. [One study](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347299911636), which provided Japanese squirrels with 720 walnuts, found that the squirrels were habitual hoarders. Over half (50.6%) of the walnuts were stashed away for later, and not in one hoard, but in several scattered across its territory.
This squirrel performs “energy calculations” based on the size of the seed/nut and travel time. 90% of the large seeds given to this squirrel were cached, versus only 60% of the small seeds, which it often ate on the spot. It was also more willing to travel farther to find the perfect hiding spot for a hefty prize, while small seeds only warranted a trip to its nearest cache (if they warranted the trip at all).
When it forgets about its stashes, or simply over-hoards, the abandoned seeds and nuts are left to germinate. In this way, through its scatter-hoarding habit, the squirrel acts as an unintentional forest gardener.
The largest squirrels seem to be the most dominant: holding the largest ranges (which change in accordance with food availability) and, for males, the most success with females.
This species breeds from February to March and May to June, with females going through multiple estrous cycles in a single year but only being receptive to breeding for a short window — during this time, they’ll often have a tail of several lusty males on their trail.
The Japanese squirrel is considered a habitat specialist, and seemingly doesn’t adapt well to suburban environments. Several populations have disappeared due to human activity. Nonetheless, the species is considered to be of Least Concern and is common across Honshū, Shikoku, and part of Kyūshū.
**Learn more about the Japanese squirrel and its hoarding habit** [here!](https://www.curiousspecies.com/species-cards/japanese-squirrel)
The Japanese squirrel is diurnal, most active in the early morning and late afternoon. It can most often be seen in the trees and is capable of jumping up to 10 metres (33 ft) while travelling between the branches.
This squirrel is particularly fond of Japanese walnuts. [One study](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347299911636), which provided Japanese squirrels with 720 walnuts, found that the squirrels were habitual hoarders. Over half (50.6%) of the walnuts were stashed away for later, and not in one hoard, but in several scattered across its territory.
This squirrel performs “energy calculations” based on the size of the seed/nut and travel time. 90% of the large seeds given to this squirrel were cached, versus only 60% of the small seeds, which it often ate on the spot. It was also more willing to travel farther to find the perfect hiding spot for a hefty prize, while small seeds only warranted a trip to its nearest cache (if they warranted the trip at all).
When it forgets about its stashes, or simply over-hoards, the abandoned seeds and nuts are left to germinate. In this way, through its scatter-hoarding habit, the squirrel acts as an unintentional forest gardener.
The largest squirrels seem to be the most dominant: holding the largest ranges (which change in accordance with food availability) and, for males, the most success with females.
This species breeds from February to March and May to June, with females going through multiple estrous cycles in a single year but only being receptive to breeding for a short window — during this time, they’ll often have a tail of several lusty males on their trail.
The Japanese squirrel is considered a habitat specialist, and seemingly doesn’t adapt well to suburban environments. Several populations have disappeared due to human activity. Nonetheless, the species is considered to be of Least Concern and is common across Honshū, Shikoku, and part of Kyūshū.
**Learn more about the Japanese squirrel and its hoarding habit** [here!](https://www.curiousspecies.com/species-cards/japanese-squirrel)
The cuckoo-roller is the sole living member of its entire order — for comparison, other bird orders can contain hundreds of species, while Passeriformes (a.k.a. songbirds) has over 6,500. And, despite its name, the cuckoo-roller is not closely related to cuckoos nor rollers.
The most unique thing about the cuckoo-roller is its very uniqueness in itself: it is the sole living species of an entire order. For comparison, other bird orders can have hundreds of species — like the waterfowl ([Anseriformes](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/6888-Anseriformes)) with some 170 species or the shorebirds ([Charadriiformes](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/67561-Charadriiformes)) with over 380 — or even thousands, with the songbird order ([Passeriformes](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7251-Passeriformes)) containing over 6,500 species. The taxonomic category above order is class; in this case the class Aves, encompassing all birds. (See [here](https://www.curiousspecies.com/my-species/cuckoo-roller#:~:text=The%20order%20Leptosomiformes%20has%20one%20species:%20the%20cuckoo-roller.%C2%A0) a taxonomic comparison between the willow flycatcher and cuckoo-roller.)
The cuckoo-roller combines traits of both [cuckoos](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1623-Cuculiformes) and [rollers](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/2262-Coraciidae): a cuckoo-like silhouette, a rolling roller-like flight pattern, the zygodactyl feet of a cuckoo, the cavity-nest of a roller, and, like both cuckoos and rollers, the cuckoo-roller is primarily carnivorous, taking insects, geckos, and small chameleons. And yet, the cuckoo-roller isn’t closely related to either of its namesakes.
Who is it related to then?
Various relations have been proposed — to woodpeckers and toucans, owls and nightjars, seriemas and mousebirds — yet definitive relatives for the cuckoo-roller are hard to come by. Many bird lineages seem to have diverged quite rapidly during the early Paleogene (\~60 million years ago). If the cuckoo-roller lineage branched off around this time, it would share deep common ancestry with many groups and leave only faint signals of where it belongs; perhaps explaining why it's so hard to place on an avian family tree. It would be helpful if the cuckoo-roller had a few living relatives, but it does not.
Could the cuckoo-roller order repopulate its ranks once more?
This species is found only on Madagascar and the nearby Comoro Islands.
Thanks to this insular distribution, the cuckoo-roller’s chances of spawning new species are fairly good; indeed, three subspecies of the cuckoo-roller have already been identified, and one of them — *L. d. gracilis*, found on Grand Comore — is different enough in plumage, voice, and size that some already consider it a wholly different species. Unfortunately, full species status would almost certainly come paired with an Endangered listing, as only around 100 pairs survive on Grand Comore. Still, the potential is there; we only have to give this loneliest of birds a chance.
**You can learn more about the cuckoo-roller, and other taxonomic relics,** [**here!**](https://www.curiousspecies.com/my-species/cuckoo-roller)
The most unique thing about the cuckoo-roller is its very uniqueness in itself: it is the sole living species of an entire order. For comparison, other bird orders can have hundreds of species — like the waterfowl ([Anseriformes](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/6888-Anseriformes)) with some 170 species or the shorebirds ([Charadriiformes](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/67561-Charadriiformes)) with over 380 — or even thousands, with the songbird order ([Passeriformes](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7251-Passeriformes)) containing over 6,500 species. The taxonomic category above order is class; in this case the class Aves, encompassing all birds. (See [here](https://www.curiousspecies.com/my-species/cuckoo-roller#:~:text=The%20order%20Leptosomiformes%20has%20one%20species:%20the%20cuckoo-roller.%C2%A0) a taxonomic comparison between the willow flycatcher and cuckoo-roller.)
The cuckoo-roller combines traits of both [cuckoos](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1623-Cuculiformes) and [rollers](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/2262-Coraciidae): a cuckoo-like silhouette, a rolling roller-like flight pattern, the zygodactyl feet of a cuckoo, the cavity-nest of a roller, and, like both cuckoos and rollers, the cuckoo-roller is primarily carnivorous, taking insects, geckos, and small chameleons. And yet, the cuckoo-roller isn’t closely related to either of its namesakes.
Who is it related to then?
Various relations have been proposed — to woodpeckers and toucans, owls and nightjars, seriemas and mousebirds — yet definitive relatives for the cuckoo-roller are hard to come by. Many bird lineages seem to have diverged quite rapidly during the early Paleogene (\~60 million years ago). If the cuckoo-roller lineage branched off around this time, it would share deep common ancestry with many groups and leave only faint signals of where it belongs; perhaps explaining why it's so hard to place on an avian family tree. It would be helpful if the cuckoo-roller had a few living relatives, but it does not.
Could the cuckoo-roller order repopulate its ranks once more?
This species is found only on Madagascar and the nearby Comoro Islands.
Thanks to this insular distribution, the cuckoo-roller’s chances of spawning new species are fairly good; indeed, three subspecies of the cuckoo-roller have already been identified, and one of them — *L. d. gracilis*, found on Grand Comore — is different enough in plumage, voice, and size that some already consider it a wholly different species. Unfortunately, full species status would almost certainly come paired with an Endangered listing, as only around 100 pairs survive on Grand Comore. Still, the potential is there; we only have to give this loneliest of birds a chance.
**You can learn more about the cuckoo-roller, and other taxonomic relics,** [**here!**](https://www.curiousspecies.com/my-species/cuckoo-roller)
Fairy Bees: these tiny bees can measure less than 2mm long; the photo on top shows a fairy bee standing on a quarter, while the photo on the bottom shows a fairy bee next to a carpenter bee
https://redd.it/1q1o1v1
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https://redd.it/1q1o1v1
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Coenodomus Moths: these moths have long, fuzzy "horns" that extend from the structures at the base of their antennae
https://redd.it/1pxmq4l
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https://redd.it/1pxmq4l
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Meet the maned wolf. Even though it’s called a maned wolf, it isn’t actually a true wolf. It’s its own unique species that lives in South America, mostly in open grasslands and those long legs help it walk easily through tall grass and plants.
https://redd.it/1pq4mkh
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https://redd.it/1pq4mkh
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The White-Marked Tussock Moth: the females of this species are essentially wingless, and they have plump, grub-like bodies that are covered in fuzz
https://redd.it/1pjxmfl
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https://redd.it/1pjxmfl
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The Sea Mouse: this marine worm's body is fringed by photonic crystals that emit colorful displays of light; each crystal is essentially a hollow, glassy tube with a wall composed of 88 perfectly hexagonal cylinders
https://redd.it/1pdqpbh
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https://redd.it/1pdqpbh
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Flattened Clown Beetles: these beetles have a remarkably thin, flat shape that allows them to slide beneath the bark of dead and dying trees, where they feed on the larvae of other invertebrates
https://redd.it/1pb6mxj
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https://redd.it/1pb6mxj
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The Titan beetle (Titanus giganteus), found in the Amazon rainforest, is one of the largest beetles on Earth! With a body length of up to 17 cm (6.7 in) long. Their jaws are so strong they can snap a pencil.
https://redd.it/1p9us6g
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https://redd.it/1p9us6g
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House centipedes have very long antennae, which differ in length depending on if it's a male or female. If the antennae are nearly twice as long as its body length, congratulations, it's a girl!
https://redd.it/1p93pb8
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Emperor penguins are the deepest-diving birds on Earth. They can plunge to depths exceeding 500 meters, with the deepest recorded dive reaching an incredible 565 meters!
https://redd.it/1p652f1
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https://redd.it/1p652f1
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