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"Jack Dumbacher, researcher at the California Academy of Sciences, discusses his 1980s discovery of New Guinea's Hooded Pitohui, the first poisonous bird to be documented by science."

"Initial estimates pegged the number of dead waterfowl as high as 6,000, but Cooper said ministry staff were going to do an updated assessment on Monday. Tests were being done to determine the cause of the deaths, but previous such die-offs often were caused by the waterfowl eating botulism-laced fish, Cooper said."

"Their heads move some 6m per second, at each peck enduring a deceleration more than 1,000 times the force of gravity. But researchers reporting in Plos One say that unequal upper and lower beak lengths and spongy, plate-like bone structure protect the birds' brains. The findings could help design more effective head protection for humans."