{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Taxon",
  "slug": "hoatzin",
  "name": "Hoatzin",
  "scientificName": "Opisthocomus hoazin",
  "category": "Bird",
  "summary": "The hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) is a pheasant-sized bird of the Amazon and Orinoco basins with a spiky crest, blue facial skin and red eyes. It is the only bird that digests leaves by fermenting them in its crop, which gives it a musty smell and the nickname 'stinkbird'. Its chicks have claws on their wings for climbing. It is the national bird of Guyana and is listed as Least Concern.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "A bird in its own order",
      "body": "The hoatzin has no close living relatives. It is the only member of its family and order, Opisthocomiformes. Adults are chestnut and buff with a long bronze-green tail tipped white, a loose crest of reddish feathers, bare blue skin around red eyes."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A cow-like stomach",
      "body": "Hoatzins eat leaves. Bacteria in the enlarged crop ferment the tough plant material, much as in a cow's rumen. The process produces a smell like fresh manure, and the heavy crop makes them clumsy fliers that spend much of the day resting."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Clawed chicks",
      "body": "Hoatzins nest over water. Young chicks have two functional claws on each wing. When a predator approaches, they drop into the water, swim away and then use their wing claws to climb back up into the branches."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Status",
      "body": "BirdLife International lists the hoatzin as Least Concern (2024); the population size is unknown and thought to be decreasing. Because of its smell and taste, it is rarely hunted."
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "Why is the hoatzin called a stinkbird?",
      "answer": "It ferments leaves in its crop, and the bacteria involved give the bird a smell like manure."
    },
    {
      "question": "Do hoatzins have claws on their wings?",
      "answer": "Only as chicks. Young hoatzins use two claws on each wing to climb through branches; the claws are lost as they grow."
    },
    {
      "question": "Where do hoatzins live?",
      "answer": "In swamps and riverside forests of the Amazon and Orinoco basins in South America."
    },
    {
      "question": "What is the national bird of Guyana?",
      "answer": "The hoatzin, known locally as the Canje pheasant."
    }
  ],
  "sourceUpdate": null,
  "evidence": [],
  "conservationStatus": "Least Concern",
  "taxonomy": {
    "kingdom": "Animalia",
    "phylum": "Chordata",
    "class": "Aves",
    "order": "Opisthocomiformes",
    "family": "Opisthocomidae",
    "genus": "Opisthocomus"
  },
  "stats": {
    "weightKg": 0.7,
    "lengthM": 0.66,
    "topSpeedKmh": 0,
    "lifespanYears": 0
  },
  "facts": [
    {
      "label": "Scientific name",
      "value": "Opisthocomus hoazin"
    },
    {
      "label": "Other name",
      "value": "Stinkbird"
    },
    {
      "label": "Diet",
      "value": "Leaves, buds and flowers of marsh and riverside plants"
    },
    {
      "label": "Habitat",
      "value": "Swamps, oxbow lakes and riverside forest"
    },
    {
      "label": "Length",
      "value": "61–66 cm (24–26 in)"
    },
    {
      "label": "Weight",
      "value": "Average about 700 g"
    },
    {
      "label": "Conservation status",
      "value": "Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2024)"
    }
  ],
  "range": {
    "nativeRange": "Swamps and riverside forest of the Amazon and Orinoco basins.",
    "continents": [
      "South America"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "citation": "BirdLife International (2026). Species factsheet: Hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin. BirdLife DataZone. Checked 1 November 2026.",
      "url": "https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/hoatzin-opisthocomus-hoazin"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Animal Diversity Web: Opisthocomus hoazin. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.",
      "url": "https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Opisthocomus_hoazin/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Tobias, J. A. et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. doi:10.1111/ele.13898",
      "url": null
    },
    {
      "citation": "Gill, F., Donsker, D. & Rasmussen, P. (Eds). IOC World Bird List v15.2.",
      "url": "https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/"
    }
  ],
  "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/hoatzin/",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
    "attribution": "Global Animal Guide — https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/hoatzin/",
    "note": "Free to reuse for non-commercial purposes with attribution and a link back to the canonical page."
  }
}