The place
Nukak Eco Lodge, Puerto Concordia, Meta, Colombia. Puerto Concordia sits on the Río Guaviare at the southern edge of Meta, where Scarlet Ibis and Roseate Spoonbills work the shallows and Hoatzins keep company at Nukak Eco Lodge. I was with them a little after 8 a.m. on a February morning in 2021.
The shot
The Hoatzin clung to a pale, slanting branch, gripping it with big, strong feet as its long tail hung down. Its spiky rust-colored crest stood up like a punk hairdo above bare blue skin and a red eye, and its chestnut, buff and cream feathers glowed against a soft green background.
The bird
The Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) belongs to the family Opisthocomidae and lives from sea level to about 1,050 m, with moist lowland forest as its major habitat and marshes and swamps also suitable.
Conservation
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, last assessed 2024); its population size has not been quantified, and BirdLife reports a decreasing trend. Source: BirdLife International