A clumsy creature sporting one of nature's weirdest hair-dos, the hoatzin looks like a bird that would have a hard time surviving in the wild. The creature can't fly well and walks awkwardly. But the hoatzin can swim away fast from enemies, and it thrives on foods other creatures can't stomach. The hoatzin even has a strange tie to the earliest known birds in history.
Vicious Head: This bird is most recognizable for its wild crest. Stiff, reddish feather's on the hoatzin's head always stand straight up, like a mohawk. This, and the creature's scrawny build, has earned it the nickname "punk rock chicken."
Hop to It: The hoatzin's wing muscles are weak, so the bird can't fly very well. Most of the time, the creature hopes from branch to branch in trees; it can leap and glide for about 100 feet to a new perch.
Digest This![]
The hoatzin uses its wings for balance when it hops through trees.
The hoatzin is clumsy in the air and on the ground, but hops through tree branches like a pro. This awkward bird thrives by eating tough, rubbery leaves that other animals can't digest. The bird snips the leaves with its rough beak and strong jaws, then rolls them into little balls inside its beak. The bird swallows the leaf-balls, but they don't go straight to its stomach. They drop down into a hard-edged "crop" in the hoatzin's chest, where the balls are mashed into a pulp that's easily digested. The crop can hold a third of a pound of mush before the food exits into the bird's stomach.
Water Wings: If a hoatzin has to jump from a tree to avoid a predator, it has no trouble jumping into water. Unlike many birds, this one can actually swim, using its feet and wings to propel it.
Baby Claws: Young hoatzins have small claws on their wings that help them grip branches. These are similar to the wing claws on archaeopteryx, the earliest known bird, which lived during the reign of the dinosaurs.
Swim for Life[]
- While resting on the edge of a branch and digesting a big meal, a young hoatzin senses danger. A deadly palm viper is slowly slithering toward it in hopes of making a kill.
- Not wanting to become a meal, the hoatzin uses its best defensive technique-it drops from the branch and lands int he river below.
- The young bird swims toward a group of small branches poking through the water, and grabs them with the claws on its wings to help climbs to safety.
Trivia[]
- The word "feathers" in "Vicious Head" has an apostrophe, making it imply ownership, when it should be plural.
- The image of the hoatzin on the back right of the card is also shared with the Wildlife Explorer card.
- The hoatzin is featured in Odd Creature Out on Monster Mania 61.