By Rajni Pandey | January 2, 2025
Hoatzins sport a mohawk-like crest, neon-blue faces, and red eyes, resembling a funky bird with dramatic cape-like wings.
With weak muscles and a simple sternum, hoatzins have clumsy flights, often leading to comical crash-landings.
Hoatzins are the only birds with a foregut fermentation system, like cows, to digest leaves and buds from 50+ plant species.
Dubbed “stink birds,” their methane-rich digestion gives them a manure-like odor, earning their unique nickname.
Highly social, hoatzins form family groups, with up to 40 birds, and perform choruses of grunts, squawks, and hisses.
First described in 1776, hoatzins baffled scientists with their wing claws, hinting at ancient reptilian ancestry.
Females lay 2–4 eggs on water-side twig platforms. Chicks can plunge into water to escape threats and climb back up.
Hoatzins thrive in Amazonian swamps and Orinoco basins but face threats from deforestation and uncontrolled tourism.
These quirky birds live up to 10 years in the wild, surviving mainly due to their inedible, foul-tasting flesh.