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Poisonous
Plants
By John Bernacki
In many
of my articles I have mentioned the need for and benefit of
feeding greens to canaries, as well as to other caged and
pet birds. However, it is important to know which plants are
not acceptable for pet birds - either as food, to be kept
near the bird's cage or to be placed in an aviary. The following
listing includes many of the plants that can be hazardous
to your bird. I hope it will prove helpful to you in preventing
a catastrophic event. The poisonous part of the plant is included
in parentheses, along with any alternate names by which the
plant may be known. Although I have tried to include as many
of the poisonous plants as possible, this list is by no means
comprehensive - when in doubt about a plant, keep your bird
away.
acocanthera
(fruit and flowers)
amaryllis (bulbs)
amsinckia (or tarweed; foliage, seeds)
anemone (all parts)
angel trumpet (flowers, leaves)
apple (seeds)
apricot (pits, inner seed)
atropa autumn crocus (bulbs)
avocado (foliage)
azalea (leaves)
balsam pear (seeds, outer rind of fruit)
baneberry (berries, roots)
beach pea (all parts)
belladonna (all parts, especially
black berries)
betel nut palm (all parts)
bird of paradise (seeds)
bittersweet (berries)
black locust (bark, sprouts, foliage)
bleeding heart (foliage, roots)
bloodroot (all parts)
bluebonnet (all parts)
blue-green algae (some forms are toxic)
bottlebrush (flowers)
boxwood (leaves, stems)
buckeye horse chestnut (sprouts, nuts)
buckthorn (fruit, bark)
buttercup (sap, bulbs)
calla lily (leaves)
caladium (leaves)
cardinal flower (all parts)
Carolina jessamine (foliage, flowers, sap)
cassava (roots)
castor bean (or castor oil-beans; leaves)
chalice vine (or trumpet vine; all parts)
cherry tree (bark, twigs, leaves, pits)
cherry laurel (foliage, flowers)
Chinaberry tree (berries)
Christmas berry (berries)
Christmas cactus (sap)
Christmas candle (sap)
Christmas rose (foliage, flowers)
coral plant (seeds)
crocus (bulbs)
croton (foliage, shoots)
cyclamen (foliage, stems, flowers)
daffodil (bulbs)
daphne (berries)
datura (berries)
deadly amanita (all parts)
deadly nightshade (all parts)
death camas (all parts)
death cap mushroom (all parts)
delphinium (all parts)
deiffenbachia (or dumbcane; leaves)
dogwood (fruit)
Dutchman's breeches (foliage, roots)
eggplant (all parts except fruit)
elderberry (foliage)
elephant's ear (or taro; leaves, stem)
English ivy (berries, leaves)
equisetum (all parts)
euphorbia (or spurges; foliage,
flowers, sap)
false henbane (all parts)
fiddleneck (or senecio; all parts)
fly agaric (or amanita; all parts)
four o'clock (all parts)
foxglove (leaves, seeds)
gelsemium (all parts)
ghostweed (all parts)
golden chain (or laburnum;
all parts, especially seeds)
hemlock (all parts, especially
roots and seeds)
henvane (seeds)
holly (berries)
horse chestnut (nuts, twigs)
horsetail reed (or equisetum; all parts)
hyacinth (bulbs)
hydrangea (flower bud)
impatiens (or touch-me-not; all parts)
Indian turnip (or jack-in-pulpit; all parts)
iris (or blue flag; bulbs)
ivy (all forms; foliage, fruit)
jasmine (foliage, flowers, sap)
jasmine star (foliage, flowers)
jatropha (seeds, sap)
java bean (or lima bean; uncooked bean)
Jerusalem cherry (berries)
jessamine (berries)
jimsonweed (foliage, flowers, seed pods)
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Johnson
grass (all parts)
juniper (needles, stems, berries)
laburnum (all parts)
lambkill (or sheep laurel;
all parts)
lantana (immature berries)
larkspur (all parts)
laurel (all parts)
lily of the valley (all parts including
water in which they have been kept)
lobelia (all parts)
locoweed (all parts)
lords and ladies (or cuckoopint; all parts)
lupine (foliage, pods, seeds)
machineel (all parts)
marijuana (leaves)
mayapple (all parts except fruit)
mescal bean (seeds)
milkweed (foliage)
mistletoe (berries)
moccasin flower (foliage, flowers)
mock orange (fruit)
monkshood (leaves, roots)
morning glory (all parts)
mountain laurel (leaves, shoots)
mushrooms (most wild forms;
caps, stems)
narcissus (bulbs)
natal cherries (berries, foliage)
nectarine (seeds, inner pit)
nicotine bush (foliage, flowers)
nightshades (all varieties; berries, leaves)
oak (acorns, foliage)
oleander (leaves, branches,
nectar of blossoms)
peach (fruit pit)
pear (seeds)
pennyroyal (foliage, flowers)
peony (foliage flowers)
periwinkle (all parts)
philodendron (leaves and stem)
pikeweed (leaves, roots,
immature berries)
pine needles (berries)
plum (foliage, inner seed)
poinsettia (leaves, flowers)
poison hemlock (foliage, seeds)
poison ivy (sap)
poison oak and sumac (foliage,
fruit, sap)
pokeweed (or poke cherry; roots, fruit)
poppy (all parts)
potato (eyes, new shoots)
privet (all parts, including berries)
redwood (resinoids, leached wet wood)
rhododendron (all parts)
rhubarb (leaves)
rosary peas (seeds)
rosemary (foliage in some species)
Russian thistle (foliage, flowers)
sage (foliage in some species)
salmonberry (foliage, fruit)
scarlet pimpernel (foliage, flowers, fruit)
Scotch broom (seeds)
senecio (or fiddleneck; all parts)
skunk cabbage (all parts)
snapdragon (foliage, flowers)
snowdrop (all parts especially buds)
snow on the mountain (or ghostweed;
all parts)
Spanish bayonet (foliage, flowers)
Sudan grass (all parts)
star of Bethlehem (foliage, flowers)
sundew (foliage)
sweet pea (seeds, fruit)
tansy (foliage)
taro (or elephant's ear; foliage)
tiger lily (foliage, flowers, seed pods)
toad lax (foliage)
tobacco (leaves)
tomato (foliage, vines)
touch-me-not (all parts)
toyon berry (berries)
trillium (foliage)
trumpet vine (all parts)
Venus flytrap (all parts)
verbena (foliage, flowers)
Virginia creeper (sap)
wild parsnip (roots, foliage)
wisteria (all parts)
yam bean (roots, immature roots)
yellow star thistle (foliage, flowers)
yew (American, English and Japanese
varieties; needles) |
I'm sure
none of us want our birds to suffer because we didn't know
something it was eating was poisonous. So heed the above list
and keep your birds away from these hazardous plants. I would
like to express my thanks to Leanne Bertino, a young lady
who loves birds, for helping me compile this list.
John
Bernacki is an experienced canary breeder and judge. His
e-mail address is jbernac1@rochester.rr.com,
or he can be contacted by writing to him in care of this magazine.
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