From Opus

Alternative name: Crested Wood-shrike

Pitohui cristatus

[edit] Identification

25 - 26cm.

• Olive-rufous upper head with long crest
• Medium rufous lower part of head
• Dark olive-brown upperparts including upperwing
• Dull rufous-brown tail
• Light rufous underparts, breast washed darker
• Brown to dark brown eyes
• Black bill

Sexes similar, immatures are duller and have a paler bill.

[edit] Distribution

Endemic to New Guinea.
Locally fairly common.

[edit] Taxonomy

There are 3 subspecies:

• P. c. cristatus in northwest and west New Guinea
• P. c. arthuri in north and central New Guinea
• P. c. kodonophonos in southeast New Guinea

[edit] Habitat

Lowland moist forests. Locally up to 1300m.

[edit] Behaviour

Feeds on insects. Forages mostly on the ground. Joins mixed flocks.
No information about breeding.
Presumably a resident species.
The skin and feathers contain powerful neurotoxic alkaloids of the batrachotoxin group (also secreted by the Colombian poison dart frogs, genus Phyllobates). It is believed that these serve the birds as a chemical defence, either against ectoparasites or against visually guided predators such as snakes, raptors or humans. (Dumbacher, et al., 1992) The birds probably do not produce batrachotoxin themselves. It is most likely that the toxins come from the Choresine genus of beetles, part of the bird's diet. (Dumbacher, et al., 2004)

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422

• List of references

[edit] External Links