Hoatzin

Nature 5 Minutes

The Hoatzin, pronounced ‘Hwat-zin”, is a peculiar tropical bird species found in South America, that has puzzled taxonomists for as long as it’s been observed. They are the only member of their genus Opisthocomus, which comes from Ancient Greek and translates to ‘wearing long hair behind’, in reference to their striking large crest. Hoatzin inhabit swamps, riparian forests, and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco basins, where they spend their time eating leaves, as well as the occasional flower and fruit. They grow up to around 65cm in length, or roughly the size of a pheasant. They are sometimes referred to as the ‘Canje pheasant’, or the skunk bird, or reptile bird. They have some very primitive characteristics and isn’t the most agile for a flying bird up in the trees, but it does well with its loud voice and clever defense mechanisms. It also has a gut that resembles that of a farm animal. 

Interesting Hoatzin Facts

1. Nobody knows what it is

Hoatzin is quite clearly a rapper’s stage name, and this goes some way to obscuring the true lineage of its ancestors. While recent research has narrowed things down a lot more, this bird has been placed among chickens, cuckoos, and various other clades in an attempt to figure out just what’s going on here. 

2. This chick’s got claws

One thing that makes it peculiar is the claws present in the wing tips of the young birds. Hoatzins build their nests over water, and the young are clumsy little things. Having clawed hands helps them clamber through the branches and occasionally fight off eagles. 

3. And a serious set of pipes

These are loud birds. Their most common call is a huff that sounds somewhere between a gorilla and a wood saw, and it’s a grating, noisy affair that carries across the rainforest. They’re also capable of groans, croaks, hisses and grunts, which they use in different contexts. When threatened by a predator, adults will flap about making all manner of alarm calls, using their outstanding voices to overwhelm and confuse their foes as the young try to fend it off with their finger talons. Even when they’re not agitated, they seem to wander about loudly huffing.

4. They’re leaf-eaters

Even their diet is unusual. There are very few birds that eat exclusively leafy vegetation, and this is one of them. While it’ll go for some fruit on occasion, the diet of a hoatzin comprises almost entirely of leaves. One of the ways they make this work is by having an equally-uncommon digestive system. 

To help balance itself on the branches, the hoatzin uses a leathery bump on the bottom of its crop.

5. They’re ruminants

Most birders don’t spend a lot of time cutting into bird guts the way they might with a cow or a goat, and this may explain why it’s only recently been discovered that some birds are also ruminants. Ruminants are traditionally hooved animals with multiple stomachs, capable of extracting the majority of useful nutrients from roughage in a process that involves fermentation, chewing their own puke, and various stomach sacs and digestive stages.  But the Hoatzin has shown us that it’s not just a perk of certain mammalian digestive systems, birds can do this too. At least, the Hoatzin can, and at least two other species, discovered since this was found out. The necessary gut bacteria for foregut fermentation in hoatzins comes, as is often the case, via a gooey, bacteria-ridden parcel, regurgitated into its mouth by a parent. This discovery has further scrambled the bird’s possible taxonomic lineage. 

6. The are pretty stinky!

The hoatzin is also known as the ‘stink bird’ or ‘skunk bird’, as it’s said they smell like fresh cow manure. Due to their diet and digestive system similar to cows, their meals ferment in their stomachs. Its strong scent serves to deter predators as well as to attract mates.

7. They suck at flying

All this extra gut makes them a weighty bird. The crop alone can be 17% of its body weight, and to make space for this extra digestive stuff, the flying muscles are small and reduced. It can fly, but much like a chicken, it’s far more adept at flapping about loudly. When full of food, they rest their extended belly on the branch to take a load off.

8. It might be one of the most primitive flying birds in existence

Most people understand that birds descended from dinosaurs, but it’s a little-known fact that birds are dinosaurs. Of all the lineage of dinosaurs that existed 66 million years ago, only one survived: the therapods. By this time, dinosaurs had long had feathers, and many could probably fly. It’s thought archaeopteryx could get some serious air as far back as 150 million years ago, so avian dinosaurs had long been in the making by the time of the extinction. Of course, after the extinction event, about a gazillion new niches opened up for the survivors, so evolution quickly set to work modifying everyone to fill them. One hypothesis for the origin of Hoatzin was that it diverged around this time, with its ancestors showing up around 65 million years ago. This could make it one of the most ancient birds in existence. And the claws on its hands definitely corroborate this – ancient birds like archaeopteryx had these too! Though these may have disappeared and reappeared over the course of the animal’s evolution.

9. They can swim

If you thought dragging themselves around on dinosaur claws wasn’t weird enough, hoatzin chicks have another trick up their wing. While the claws can be used in defense, if that doesn’t go to plan, they can drop out of the nest and into the water below, a medium they’re quite comfortable swimming in, submerged, until the threat is gone. 

10. They’re doing ok for now, but populations are declining

The sheer size of the Hoatzin’s range gives it an ecological advantage, and population numbers look good; though there’s no set estimate for just how many there are. However, the population is decreasing, and though this doesn’t spark concerns in terms of conservation just yet, it’s possibly a sign of worse to come. Populations of animals will naturally fluctuate and can often bounce back or stabilize, but the hoatzin is projected to lose around 20% of its habitat over three generations, and the factors affecting this aren’t going away any time soon.  Locally, they’re eaten by humans, and internationally they’re subjects of illegal pet trading. Still, for now, they’re not close to becoming threatened.

11. The hoatzin is the national bird of Guyana

Guyana is a country on the northern mainland of South America. They can be found throughout the year in the country – along the Berbice River and its tributary, the Canje Creek, and to some extent, on the Abary, Mahaicony and Mahaica Rivers. 

SOURCE: FACTANIMAL.COM

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Published by pat frederick

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125 thoughts on “Hoatzin”

  2. Western Lensman
    @WesternLensman
    🚨NEW: Sen Van Hollen reports from his El Salvador hotel room that more Democrats will be heading there to fight for Abrego-Garcia:

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  4. Shannon Bream

    @ShannonBream

    BREAKING: Justice Kagan just denied emergency request from four people in the US illegally who are set to be deported. They lost before Bd of Immigration Appeals, 9th Cir affirmed. They asserted that they were victims of cartel violence and face explicit death threats. #SCOTUS

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  5. Oh, wow! So intricate! And the color!!!

    NF: A LTC in the AF with whom I worked on the PGM study was a bombardier in a newer model of this plane. He sat in one of those bubbles w/the machine gun.

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  6. “Ride the stage to the Matterhorn!”

    “If the ice crystals in the atmosphere align just right, you get light columns.”

    Bathroom in Pompeii, Ceiling Details

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  7. “That white shirt is amazingly clean”

    Re: the video I posted earlier….….my Sis had a Great White Pyrenees – fantastic dogs!!

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      1. They are fantastic – my Sis’ kids used to ride hers all around the house – both of them at one time! Granted, they were very young but still!

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Shipwreckedcrew
    @shipwreckedcrew
    I’ve read the newly released decision from the 4th Circuit denying the Administration’s Request for Stay pending appeal of Judge Xinis’s order for expedited discovery.

    The 4th Circuit is not helping her cause.

    Remember that the 4th Circuit denied the stay request on her Order that Abrego Garcia be returned to the United States on a Friday, giving the Admin. until the following Monday at midnight to do so.

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    Ok – Judge Xinis never said that. The was told to define what she meant by effectuate and she just deleted the word. She has never been specific about she meant by “Facilitate.”

    Even after the Fourth Circuit order the Govt does not know — other than the ultimate result — what steps she is directing the Govt to take.

    She has been unwilling to do that because that would create a basis to appeal on the claim that her order exceeds her authority.

    But that is why the SCOTUS said “Describe what you mean” — so everyone can evaluate whether what she means exceeds her authority.

    The Fourth is running cover for her — but she did not comply with what SCOTUS told her to do.

    This is going back to SCOTUS ASAP and I don’t expect that they will be too happy that the lower court judges seem to not be able to find their own limits on what it is they might be able to accomplish.

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  9. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

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          1. dunno. I went thru their ai help and it told me to see if comments are “open” which it is…and that might affect MY blog–but Marica’s as well??? anyway I hit contact human support and I’m waiting at this point.
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            1. IDK about this “reader” thing. I just sign in on the WP main page every morning, accept all cookies, then open the 2 blogs in separate tabs.

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