Bonnie (she/her) on Nostr: TIL: there are "toxic birds" Two New Toxic Birds Discovered - "Locals in Papua New ...
TIL: there are "toxic birds"
Two New Toxic Birds Discovered -
"Locals in Papua New Guinea called the birds spicy. When University of Copenhagen evolutionary ecologist Kasun Bodawatta handled feathers from the Regent Whistler and the Rufous-naped Bellbird, his eyes teared up and itched like he was chopping onions. It was the ecologist's first experience with toxic birds.
The island's toxic birds were first described scientifically in 1992, and researchers have since identified a few more species. Their feathers and skin all carry the same type of potent neurotoxin found in South American poison dart frogs. If these substances, called batrachotoxins, bind to neurons' sodium-channel proteins, they cause the neurons to fire nonstop. High-enough doses can cause muscle paralysis and death."
Read more: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/two-new-toxic-birds-discovered/
#birds #toxic #spicy
Two New Toxic Birds Discovered -
"Locals in Papua New Guinea called the birds spicy. When University of Copenhagen evolutionary ecologist Kasun Bodawatta handled feathers from the Regent Whistler and the Rufous-naped Bellbird, his eyes teared up and itched like he was chopping onions. It was the ecologist's first experience with toxic birds.
The island's toxic birds were first described scientifically in 1992, and researchers have since identified a few more species. Their feathers and skin all carry the same type of potent neurotoxin found in South American poison dart frogs. If these substances, called batrachotoxins, bind to neurons' sodium-channel proteins, they cause the neurons to fire nonstop. High-enough doses can cause muscle paralysis and death."
Read more: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/two-new-toxic-birds-discovered/
#birds #toxic #spicy