ECUADORAN AMAZON — The hoatzin was one of the strangest birds I saw during our trip here last month. Even its name, pronounced wat-sin, sounds peculiar and like something that would arise from ...

Why it's awesome: The hoatzin is often regarded as one of the world's strangest birds.Hatchlings are born with clawed wings — a rare, prehistoric trait — and adults give off a strong ...

T he hoatzin, a bizarre bird from the Amazon, has long puzzled scientists.Known for its foul odor and unique traits, it seems like something straight out of a science fiction novel. Recent studies ...

The hoatzin is a South American bird that eats leaves instead of berries, insects or seeds like many other birds. ... No other bird in South America looks, eats or sounds like the hoatzin.

Since its discovery, researchers have lumped the bird under various groups, stating they have similarities to other birds, such as African turacos.It’s believed the hoatzin may have branched off from ...

Meet Hoatzin, the Stinky Bird That Eats Like a Cow. Hoatzins sport a mohawk-like crest, neon-blue faces, and red eyes, resembling a funky bird with dramatic cape-like wings.

Ben Crair on the hoatzin, the bird that is seemingly defying the concept behind the tree of life; B10K, a research group that is trying to sequence the genome of every species of bird; and DNA ...

In 2024, biologists analyzed and mapped the genomes of more than 360 bird species to create a family tree of major bird groups, but where hoatzin fit into the picture is unclear.