Toxic bird

Species include the pitohui and ifrita birds from Papua New Guinea, the European quail, the spur-winged goose, hoopoes, the bronzewing pigeon, and the red warbler.

[2] The African spur-winged goose is toxic to eat as it sequesters poison in its tissues, from the blister beetles that it feeds on.

[6] Poison is the only form of toxic weaponry that has evolved within birds, and it appears to have been gained in particular independent clusters of avian lineages (e.g., Pitohui and Ifrita).

The occurrence of batrachotoxins in muscle, viscera, and deep regions of the skin argues against these substances being topically applied, i.e., through “anting,” a behavior common in passerines where arthropods, fruits, or other materials are smeared directly onto the plumage.

Perhaps birds sequester batrachotoxins produced by microorganisms in a way analogous to that in which pufferfish may obtain tetrodotoxin, another neurotoxin, from bacteria in their skin.