The Story
This Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) was at Ecohotel La Fortuna in Yopal, Casanare, Colombia when I photographed it. It was once thought to eat only arum and mangrove leaves, but it is now known to eat the leaves of more than 50 plant species. It lives in swamps, riverside forest and mangroves of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. It is a noisy bird, with hoarse calls that include groans, croaks, hisses and grunts. Hoatzin chicks have two claws on each wing, which they use to climb back to the nest after dropping into the water to escape predators. Yopal is the capital of Casanare.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and a 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 lens, at 1/50 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200, +1 EV. IUCN lists the Hoatzin as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) belongs to the family Opisthocomidae (Hoatzin) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List