page_title: Hooded pitohui
section_title: Physiology and description
hierarchical_section_title: Hooded pitohui / Physiology and description
caption_attribution_description: English: Hooded Pitohui (Pitohui dichrous) YUS Conservation area on the Huon Peninsula, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea
context_page_description: The hooded pitohui is a species of bird in the genus Pitohui found in New Guinea. It was long thought to be a whistler but is now known to be in the Old World oriole family. Within the oriole family this species is most closely related to the variable pitohuis in the genus Pitohui, and then the figbirds.
  A medium-sized songbird with rich chestnut and black plumage, this species is one of the few known poisonous birds, containing a range of batrachotoxin compounds in its skin, feathers and other tissues. These toxins are thought to be derived from their diet, and may function both to deter predators and to protect the bird from parasites. The close resemblance of this species to other unrelated birds also known as pitohuis which are also poisonous is an example of convergent evolution and Müllerian mimicry. Their appearance is also mimicked by unrelated non-poisonous species, a phenomenon known as Batesian mimicry. The toxic nature of this bird is well known to local hunters, who avoid it. It is one of the most poisonous species of pitohui, but the toxicity of individual birds can vary geographically.
context_section_description: The hooded pitohui is 22 to 23 cm (8.7–9.1 in) long and weighs 65–76 g (2.3–2.7 oz). The adult has a black upperwing, head, chin, throat and upper breast and a black tail. The rest of the plumage is a rufous chestnut. The bill and legs are black, and the irises are either reddish brown, dark brown or black. Both sexes look alike. Juvenile birds look like adults, except that the rectrices of the tail and remiges of the wing are tinged with brown.
caption: The plumage of the hooded pitohui is dichromatic, black and rufous chestnut
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