Diet

What does the Hoatzin eat?

Hoatzins are one of the few birds which feed entirely on leaves.

It will take up to 45 hours for their food to digest. As a result of this long digestion period they will spend up to 80% of their time resting.

Learn more about the Hoatzin in this video from Bizzare Beasts on YouTube

Range

Where do you find the Hoatzin?

South and Central America is the native home of the hoatzin. Here they can be found in the following countries - Bolivia; Brazil; Colombia; Ecuador; French Guiana; Guyana; Peru; Suriname and Venezuela.

Habitat

Where can the Hoatzin survive?

These animals are found in forest and wetland habitats. Their nests are built over a watercourse.

Credit: ricardo_soul, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Reproduction

How does the Hoatzin produce its young?

Breeding takes place during the rainy season in their range.

Chicks hatch after a 28 day incubation period. Between 2 and 5 eggs are laid in to the nest. At hatching the chicks have dark brown down.

Both the male and female will work to raise the young in the three weeks after they hatch.

At birth the chicks have claws on their wings. These are lost as they mature. Chicks use these claws to climb up the trunks of trees.

Should the chick come in to danger it will leap from the nest which is typically built over water. They then find their way to the shore and climb up a tree trunk to get back in to the nest.

Young birds will spend the first few years of life in their parents territory as new territories are scarce. They will provide some assistance to their parents as they raise their next clutch.

Sexual maturity is reached at 3 years old.

Behavior

What does the Hoatzin do during its day?

The call of the hoatzin is described as sounding like a breathless rasp.

These birds live in small groups which include an average of 8 members though some grow to include as many as 100 individuals. These groups help one another to find food and raise their young.

These birds have been nicknamed the stinkbird. This is a result of the bacteria in their stomach which helps to ferment their food. They will belch to release the gases.

A pair of hoatzins will form a territory which they defend against entry by other birds. They display through copulations and loud calls.

Credit: Alejandro Bayer Tamayo from Armenia, Colombia, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Predators and Threats

What stops the Hoatzin from surviving and thriving?

Natural predators of the hoatzin include snakes, monkeys and birds of prey.

While considered to be common the hoatzin is decreasing in number. Small numbers are collected for the pet trade and for use as food.

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Quick facts

The hoatzin is known by a number of alternative names including the stink bird, reptile bird, canje pheasant or skunk bird.

Their taxonomy is a topic of fierce debate and is still not settled. At present the species is listed in its own genus, Opisthocomus. The genus name is taken from Ancient Greek for "long haird behind" and references their crest of feathers.

These animals branched off from the remainder of the avian tree around 65 million years ago.

They have been linked to the species, Archaeopteryx due to the claws on the wing.

Credit: Bill Bouton, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons