Source
The "poison dart" (or "poison arrow") frog does not produce batrachotoxin itself. It is believed that the frogs get the poison from eating beetles or other insects in their native habitat. Frogs raised in captivity do not produce batrachotoxin, and thus may be handled without the risk of death.
The native habitat of poison dart frogs is the warm regions of Central America and South America, in which the humidity is around 80 percent.
Of the three so-called "poison dart" frogs which contain batrachotoxin—Phyllobates terribilis, Phyllobates aurotaenia, and Phyllobates bicolor—the most toxic is the most recently discovered Phyllobates terribilis, which generally contains 27 times more batrachotoxin than its close relatives and is 20-fold more toxic.
Also in 1990, it was discovered that some bird species in New Guinea, such as the Hooded Pitohui, contain the toxin on their skin and feathers. Like the dart frogs, it is believed they ingest the toxin from a food source and then secrete it. Specifically, the toxin has been recently discovered in melyrid beetles from New Guinea (the genus Choresine), making them the likely source of the toxin in the birds that consume them.
Read more about this topic: Batrachotoxin
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