New Guinea bird

Dumbacher, J. P. (2003). Natural histoiy of chemical defense in New Guinea birds. InPro-ceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Chemical Signals in Vertebrates, July, 2003, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 

A unique class of steroidal alkaloids, the batrachotoxinins, is isolated in small quantities from the skins of poison arrow frogs and also from the feather of a New Guinea bird. One of the key steps during the total synthesis of (+)-batrachotoxinin A by Y. Kishi et al. was a Michael addition to form a seven-membered oxazapane ring. The removal of the primary TBS protecting group was achieved by treatment with TASF and the resulting alkoxide attacked the enone at the 3-position to afford an enolate as the Michael adduct. The enolate was trapped with phenyl triflimide as the end triflate. 

It is normally found in Australia and New Guinea. The natural reservoirs are mosquitoes, birds, foxes, and opossums. Mosquitoes remain infective for life. Domestic animals do not manifest clinical symptoms. This is a biosafety level 3 agent. 

Burger, J., M. Laska, and M. Gochfeld. 1993a. Metal concentrations in feathers of birds from Papua New Guinea forests evidence of pollution. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 12 1291-1296. 

Similar to amphibians, the pitohui, a toxic bird in New Guinea, appears to derive its toxic alkaloids from its invertebrate diet (Dumbacher etal, 2000). 

Dumbacher, J. P., Spande, T. F., and Daly, J. W. (2000). Batrachotoxin alkaloids from passerine birds a second toxic bird genus Ifrita kowaldi) from New Guinea. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 97,12970-12975. 

A completely different use was found for tortoiseshell in the islands between New Guinea and Australia. There it was a popular material finm which to make himting or ceremonial masks, combined with other materials such as sea shells and feathers. The masks often represented animals, for example birds or fishes (Fig. 8.16). 

Fantails are active birds that have a pleasing habit of spreading the tail as a visual display. The friendly fantah (Rhipidura albolimbata) is a common, tame, inquisitive bird that occurs widely in montane forests of New Guinea. 

The true or forest orioles include 28 species of medium-sized birds that make up the family Qriolidae. These birds occur in Africa, Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, New Guinea, and Australia. Their usual habitats are forests, open woodlands, and savannas. Most species are tropical, but some migratory species occur in temperate regions. 

The fig-parrots or lorilets are five species in the subfamily Opopsittinae. These are small-bodied, large-headed, short-tailed, fruit- and seed-eating birds of tropical forests. The double-eyed fig-parrot Psittaculirostria dzopktkabna) occurs in Australia and New Guinea. 

The pygmy parrots are six species of tiny birds that comprise the subfamily Micropsittinae. These birds occur in tropical forests of New Guinea and nearby islands. 

In New Guinea, traditional hunters are aware that Pitohui and Ifrita birds carry neurotoxins. Local names for these birds often reflect the fact that they are bitter or contain burning chemicals. Toxins in these birds are more diffuse than in the frogs, but even a single feather, if tasted, can cause an acute burning... 

Studies on the total synthesis of batrachotoxins (steroid alkaloids found in the skin of frogs of the Phyllobates species and the feathers of birds of the Pitohui and Iflita families from New Guinea) 04YGK1205. 

Bird, M. I., Haberle, S. G., and Chivas, A. R. (1994). Effect of altitude on the carbon-isotope composition of forest and grassland soils from Papua New Guinea. Globa Biogeodwrn. Cydes 8, 13-22. 

Cassowaries are ancient land birds that now live in the forests of New Guinea. They can produce calls as low as 23 cps. (Courtesy of Fotosearch, Waukesha, WI, www.fotosearch.com)... 

Guinea. Some Melyrid beetles are now known to contain large amounts of batrachotoxin and varieties of this beetle are found all over the tropics, including Golombia and New Guinea, where they may form part of the diet of both the frogs and the birds. Whether the beetles make the batrachotoxin themselves or obtain it from their diet is not known at present. It would be unusual for a beetle to synthesize steroid molecules like batrachotoxin, so it mav be that... 

Species and Strains Many studies have shown that phase I and phase II activities in different animal species differ significantly and influence the detoxification of chemicals. For example, the basal values of hepatic microsomal systems differ to a large extent between species of rodents.46,47 There are wide variations among animals species such as birds, albino rat, Swiss mouse, guinea pigs, New... 

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