hoatzin

[hoh-at-sin, waht-sin]

noun

1. a blue-faced, crested bird, Opisthocomus hoazin, of the Amazon and Orinoco forests, having as a nestling a large, temporary claw on the second and third digits of the forelimb, for climbing among the tree branches.

hoatzin

/ həʊˈætsɪn /

noun

1. a unique South American gallinaceous bird, Opisthocomus hoazin, with a brownish plumage, a very small crested head, and clawed wing digits in the young: family Opisthocomidae

Word History and Origins

Origin of hoatzin¹

1655–65; ≪ Nahuatl huāctzīn, huāhtzīn name for several hen-sized birds of the Valley of Mexico, apparently applied indiscriminately by early naturalists to similar New World birds

Word History and Origins

Origin of hoatzin¹

C17: from American Spanish, from Nahuatl uatzin pheasant

Example Sentences

After another bird-filled stop, where we saw our first turkey-like hoatzin — whose ungainly size and clumsy movements made us all laugh — we were transferred into two smaller canoes.

From New York Times

Scientists were surprised to learn that some hoatzin still use their claws to climb and move around.

From Science Magazine

A hoatzin, a primitive bird like a living archaeopteryx, called in the distance as we baited hand-lines with — what else? — gristly chunks of local beef.

From New York Times

One animal they were eager to see was the hoatzin, which is a “punk-rock looking bird,” he said, because of its mohawk.

From Washington Times

Chickens share the most DNA with the first bird ancestor, closely followed by hoatzin and emu.

From Scientific American