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 2021. It is the only living species in its genus, family and order. It has a bare blue face, maroon eyes and a spiky rufous crest, and at about 65 centimeters long it is roughly the size of a pheasant. Its gut ferments plant matter much as a ruminant mammal’s does, and its crop is so large that it crowds the flight muscles. It is the national bird of Guyana, where people call it the Canje pheasant. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L for this one, at 1/350 sec, f/9.5, ISO 1600, −0.5 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