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Hoatzin — printable fact sheet
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Animal Fact Sheet
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Hoatzin
Opisthocomus hoazin
The hoatzin is the only bird known to digest its food the way a cow does. It ferments leaves in a hugely enlarged crop, using bacteria to break down cellulose long before the food reaches the stomach — foregut fermentation, otherwise unknown among birds. The trade-off is severe:…
Did you know?
- Despite their awkward flight and poor flying ability, Hoatzin chicks can leap into water and swim to safety if threatened, using their wing claws to climb back up afterwards.
- The hoatzin ferments leaves in an enlarged crop using bacteria — the only bird known to digest food like a cow. That crop crowds out its flight muscles, which is why it flies so poorly. The fermentation makes it smell like manure, earning it the name "stinkbird" — and making it unappealing to hunters. Its chicks hatch with claws on their wings and can climb back up a tree after dropping into the water to escape.
What I learned
Draw the hoatzin
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