And now, (finally) the hoatzin!405Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2G0ecgJlkq
Looks like a chicken phoenix, smells like a cow- the hoatzin is an odd bird at best. It is one of the clumsiest creatures you might find, and it has a couple of features that most people would say don't belong on birds.405Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX40atEuxM2
Most noted of these are the two claws on the wings of the hoatzin's young, which the bird loses by maturity. These are used to climb trees. The young bird, to escape from predators, jumps out of the nest- which is built over the water so they don't splat- and, when the danger is gone, paddles back and climbs to the nest.
Then there's the thing that gave the hoatzin the nickname "stinkbird". It eats only plants, and most plants are hard to digest, no matter what vegetarians say. Because of this, it digests in a way similar to a cow, and, like a cow, it belches methane. Its digestive tract has multiple "stomach" chambers in which the leaves that it eats sits to be broken down by friendly bacteria, which emit the methane that the bird then expels itself.
For quite a while, nobody knew what the heck this thing was doing in the avian group. Some thought they were related to turacos, which was later disproved in favor of the theory, based on genetic evidence, that they were more like doves. Further genetic study showed that they are in a class of their own, but most closely related to cranes and plovers, surprisingly enough.
Next month: the pink fairy armadillo!
Thank you for reading.
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