THE PREHISTORIC HOATZINCLAWS AND ALL
In Madre de Dios, few birds are more common and bizarre than the
hoatzin, a chicken-like bird with a spiky crest that can often be
seen flapping noisily around bushes at waters edge. Hoatzins stand
out from other birds because they are clumsy fliers and make a
creepy grunting sound. They also eat only leaves and, like cows,
have three stomachscalled cropsfor digesting the organic
material. The leaves ferment inside their crops, give these birds a
bad odor and the local nickname of stinky bird. The hoatzin
doesnt mind being smelly, however, because that is its main
protection from predators.
Hoatzin chicks have an even more interesting defense. The chicks
are born with claws on their wingslike the flying pterodactyl.
When an anaconda or other predator comes to the nest to eat the
chicks, they dive into the water. When the danger is past, they use
their claws to climb back into their nest. Many Amazon guides say
these claws are proof that the hoatzin is a prehistoric bird that
has changed little since the Mesozoic era. Recent DNA analysis,
however, indicates the hoatzin is a strange member of the cuckoo
family and its claws are probably a relatively recent
adaptation.
http://www.moon.com/planner/peru/mustsee/animals.html
