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Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) a.k.a.🐦

Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0

SpeciesOpisthocomiformesOpisthocomidae
Birds

🐦Hoatzin

Opisthocomus hoazin (Statius Muller, 1776)

The hoatzin is a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riparian forests, and mangroves of the Amazon and Orinoco Basins in South America. It is the only extant species in the genus Opisthocomus which is the only extant genus in the family Opisthocomidae under the order Opisthocomiformes. Despite being the subject of intense debate by specialists, the taxonomic position of this family is still far from clear.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Photos
6
Measurements
9
vs you
≈ 1/89th of your weight
Conservation status
LCLeast concern

IUCN Red List assessment, 2024.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
0.7 kg
Body length
not recorded
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
not recorded
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Hoatzin

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
0.7 kg
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Tail length
0.29 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Wing length
0.32 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Beak length
0.03 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Tarsus length
0.05 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Trophic level
Herbivore
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Habitat
Riverine
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Lifestyle
Insessorial
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Volume l
0.7 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Hoatzin yet: body length, shoulder height, top speed, bite force, maximum lifespan.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classAves
  4. ›orderOpisthocomiformes
  5. ›familyOpisthocomidae
  6. ›genusOpisthocomus
  7. ›speciesOpisthocomus hoazin
Full lineage
  1. classBirds · Aves
  2. orderOpisthocomiformes
  3. familyOpisthocomidae
  4. genusOpisthocomus
All 12 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassSarcopterygii
  7. superclassTetrapoda
  8. orderSauria
  9. classBirds · Aves
  10. orderOpisthocomiformes
  11. familyOpisthocomidae
  12. genusOpisthocomus
More

More about the Hoatzin

Closest relative on this site
🐦 Black-winged Stilt — last shared an ancestor ≈ 79 million years ago.
In other languages
hoatzín (ca), hoacin chocholatý (cs), Hoatzin (da), Hoatzin (de), Opisthocomus hoazin (es), hoatsin (fi) … and 26 more languages
More photos
Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) a.k.a.Hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin.4 day trip to La Selva Lodge on the Napo River in the Amazon jungle of E.
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