Avian Toxins

Potential Dangers

Frayed electrical wiring  Glass beads (necklaces, etc.) Hot pot, pan, utensils Plastic chains Hot water from tap Rope perches with frayed or loose ends Hot liquids on stove Lit electric stoves Lit wood stove Cage covers with frayed or loose ends Rotating window or ceiling fans Costume jewelry Bells with lead clappers Hardware cloth

Walnut shell or corn cob Uncurtained windows Kitty-litter when used with baby birds Open doors/screens/windows Contaminated feed/bone meal Space heaters Foil from some champagne/wine bottles Batteries Curtain/Fishing weights Backs of mirrors Stained glass seams U.S. pennies since 1982 Bird toys with lead weights

Plants

Should I be worried?

Many birds naturally eat plants as part of their diet. Some birds will chew on and possibly consume plants in the course of playing. Birds left unsupervised out of their cage may easily encounter plants kept around the house and in the garden. It is important for owners to be aware of which plants are toxic to birds. Few actual studies are available in regard to plant toxicity and birds. Extrapolations from information pertaining to other species including humans concerning harmful effects must be made.

Which Plants?

The list of indoor and outdoor plants below has attempted to catalogue the plants considered to be potentially toxic. If there is concern regarding specific plants not listed here then consult your local Poison Control Center or reputable nursery for more information. Some plants have been included on this list even if there is a remote possibility of concern.

Harmful Plants

Amaryllis – bulbs American Yew Autumn Crocus (Meadow Saffron) Avocado Azalea – leaves Apple Balsam pear – seeds, rind Baneberry – berries, roots Bean Plants Bird of Paradise – seeds Black Elderberry – not berry Black Locust – bark, sprouts, foliage Bleeding Heart Bloodroot Blue-green algae – some forms are toxic Boxwood – leaves, stems Bracken Fern Buckthorn – fruit, bark Bulb Flowers Burdock Buttercup – sap, bulbs Caladium – leaves Calla Lily – leaves Castor bean Castor oil – beans, leaves Chalice vine – all parts Cherry Tree – bark, twigs, leaves, pits Christmas Candle Christmas Cherry – berries Clematis Coffee Plants Coral Plant Cowslip Crown Vetch Daffodil Daphne Datura – berries Death Amanita Dieffenbachia Egg Plant Elderberry Elephant’s ear – taro English Holly English Yew Eucalyptus Euonymus Evergreen (most) False Hellebore Felt Plant Firethorn Flame Tree Fly Agaric Mushrooms Foxglove Golden Chain Hemlock Holly Honey Locust Honeysuckle Horse Beans Horse – chestnut Hyacinth Hydrangea Indian TurnipJava Bean (Glorybean) Jasmine Iris (Blue Flag) – bulb Ivy

Japanese Yew Jack-in-the-pulpit Jerusalem cherry – berries Jimsonweed – leaves, seeds J. Virginia – needles, stems, berries Lantana Larkspur – all parts Laurel – all parts Lily-of-the-valley – all parts including the water they’re in Lima Beans - uncooked Lobelia Locoweed Locusts Lords and Ladies Lupine Marijuana May Apple Mescal Bean Milkweed Mistletoe Mock Orange Monkshood Moonseed Morning Glory Mountain Laurel Narcissus Nettles Nightshade Nutmeg Oak Tree – leaves Parsley Periwinkle Philodendron Pigweed Poinsettia Poison Hemlock Poison Ivy/Oak Pokeweed Potato (new shoots) Privet Purple Sesbane Raintree Rhododendron Rhubarb (leaves) Rosary Pea Sandbox Tree Skunk Cabbage Snow Drop Snow Flake Snow-on-the-mountain Sorrel Spurges Spindle Tree (berries) Sweet Pea (plant) Tobacco Vetch Virginia Creeper Water Hemlock Wattle Western Yew White Cedar Wisteria Yam Bean Yew

If in doubt, remove the plant!!!