From Mike Thornton:
Hello, I was down Pembs last week and
visited the Marloes Mere site and continued through a couple of fields
heading towards Martin Haven when I came upon a Cuckoo feeding on a
fence near the coastal path. It would fly down to the ground and come
back up with a caterpillar, on checking the photo later it looks like
the bird was feeding on Cinnabar moth caterpillars (poisonous). I knew
they fed on caterpillars but not Cinnabars, so are they
affected by the poison?
Admin: Apparently "Caterpillars and
other insects such as beetles and ants form the major part of the
Cuckoo's diet. Many of the caterpillars are the hairy or brightly
coloured poisonous ones, but their digestive system is specially
adapted to cope with the hairs and toxins." But I could only find info about adaptations for toxic hairs, not for general toxicity.
