第 1382 號，共 1 402 號

Blue-capped ifrit

Ifrita kowaldi

無害對人無害。不用擔心。

皮膚裡有毒吃：昆蟲有毒（碰或吃會中毒），不是有毒液

The blue-capped ifrit is a small forest bird with a bright blue cap on its head. It lives only in the high, wet forests of New Guinea. It matters because its feathers and skin carry a strong poison that the bird picks up from its food.1

有毒還是有毒液？有毒液的動物會用咬或螫把毒液注入身體。有毒的動物則是碰到或吃下去會有害。這種動物是有毒的（碰或吃會中毒）。

分布在

Western New Guinea and Papua New Guinea, found nowhere else on Earth1

澳洲與大洋洲

首頁

It mainly lives in subtropical and tropical moist montane forests, usually at 1,500 metres or higher, and it depends on the forest ecosystem. It forages in small groups in these high-altitude forests.1

長度

16 cm 到 17 cm (6,3 in 到 6,7 in)1

體重

34 g 到 36 g (1,2 oz 到 1,3 oz)1

最高速度

大約 40 km/h（25 mph）

飛行, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It eats mainly insects and worms. It forages carefully through moss, branches and tree trunks, and sometimes eats soft fruits.1

Blue-capped ifrit 的照片 — Blue-capped ifrit。照片：Jay Pruett。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Brown upperparts with finely dotted wing edges, and light-yellow underparts1
A bright blue cap outlined in black, with a small black spot on the crown1
A long white stripe beside the eye, with a thin black line inside it, and a narrow white ring around the eye1
A stout body with a broad chest, short rounded wings and feathered legs1
Males have whiter ear streaks and more vivid head and neck colours than females1

毒素力量

皮膚裡有毒

牠的皮膚有毒。碰、舔或吃牠都很危險。

牠的毒素有什麼作用？

This bird is poisonous rather than venomous, because it does not bite or sting. Its feathers and skin contain batrachotoxin (BTX), a neurotoxin, which is a poison that attacks the nerves. BTX holds open the sodium channels in muscle and nerve cells, which can cause muscle paralysis and potentially death. It is thought to be deadlier than cyanide, and in people it causes sneezing, irritation and allergic reactions when they handle the bird.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 輕微跟蜜蜂螫差不多或更輕微。對人基本上無害。

Handling the bird can cause sneezing, irritation and allergic reactions in people. The toxin is thought to be deadlier than cyanide, but the bird is not aggressive.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

Its toxic feathers and skin protect it against predators and parasites.1

如果有人碰了或吃了牠

如果有人吃了牠，或吃了之後出現症狀：立刻打緊急電話或打給毒物諮詢中心。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果你碰了或吃了牠：不要揉眼睛或摸嘴巴，把手洗乾淨，並且就醫。

牠不是想來抓你。牠的毒只是為了不讓別的動物吃掉牠。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

牠有多重？

跟 36 根迴紋針一樣重

跟 5 塊玩具積木排成一排一樣長可以在 9,5 秒內飛過一整座足球場

Blue-capped ifrit 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一個正在衝刺的人 大約 37 km/h (23 mph)

Blue-capped ifrit 大約 40 km/h (25 mph)

市區裡的汽車 大約 50 km/h (31 mph)

值得知道

小知識

It is one of the few birds known to store batrachotoxin, a poison that is thought to be deadlier than cyanide, in its feathers and skin.1

It is resistant to its own poison because of a gene mutation that changes the shape of its sodium channel. Similar mutations are found in poison dart frogs.1

It does not make its own poison. It gets the toxin from Choresine beetles it eats, and possibly from soil mites or certain plants.1

Its toxin-covered feathers may rub off onto its egg or nest, which may protect them from predators.1

The species is an ancient one that dates back to the Oligocene epoch, when New Guinea was a series of islands.1

It is the only living member of its family, Ifritidae, so the family has just one species.1

破解迷思

迷思： The bird makes its own poison.

真相： The toxin is thought to come from its diet, mainly Choresine beetles.1

給毒液專家

學名: Ifrita kowaldi
類群: 其他有毒動物
家人: Ifritidae2
排序: Passeriformes
各大洲: 澳洲與大洋洲
寶寶: Nesting runs from August to November. Each clutch usually holds a single white egg with black and purple spots, laid in a nest of moss and fern about 2 to 3 metres above the ground.1
牠在野外的狀況: Least concern1
對人的危險: 1 / 5: 輕微3