The Story
I photographed this Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) from the Ferry Marcopolo on the Orteguaza River at Puerto Arango, near Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. It lives in swamps, riverside forests and mangroves of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. It is the only living member of its family, and where it belongs on the bird family tree is still debated. Its chicks have two claws on each wing, which they use to scramble through branches without falling into the water. It ferments the plant matter it eats, a way of digesting that is more familiar from cattle and other ruminants. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though its numbers are believed to be falling.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800, −0.3 EV. From the Marco Polo ferry, on a two-hour trip along the Orteguaza River, passengers see the Hacha River flow into the Orteguaza and watch for birds.
©2021 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