Cosmic LibrarianHoatzin: The strange 'stinkbird' born with clawed wings that appears to be an evolutionary 'orphan'
This weird blue-faced, red-eyed bird smells so bad predators won't eat it.
Weird bird...
llewelly@KateShaw has released a wonderful episode about the Hoatzin, a weird bird that is a foregut fermeter, and uses its wing claws for climbing:
https://strangeanimalspodcast.blubrry.net/2025/01/27/episode-417-the-hoatzin/
Please send well wishes to her, she's not feeling well. Get well soon, Kate.
ScienceActuallyHoatzins have an enlarged crop that acts as a fermentation chamber, breaking down the leaves they eat. This process produces foul-smelling bacterial vapors that are similar to cow manure - hence their nickname ‘stink bird’.
Kara Finance
hr. 
Ref sheet commission for Ludo!
#anthro #furry #furryart #bird #hoatzin #sergal #referencesheet #refsheet #commission #digitalart #art
The hoatzin is the only bird with a digestive system that ferments vegetation as a cow does, which enables it to eat leaves and buds exclusively.
Hoatzin | bird
hoatzin, (Opisthocomus hoazin), primitive chicken-sized bird of South American swamps, principally in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. The young possess two large claws on each wing, a trait that has led some scientists to link the species with the fossil Archaeopteryx of the dinosaur era. The hoatzin is the only bird with a digestive system that ferments vegetation as a cow does, which enables it to eat leaves and buds exclusively. Hoatzins feed on swamp plants, grinding foliage in a greatly enlarged crop (not the gizzard, as in other birds). Adults can fly clumsily for short distances, but they
Christopher DiPiazzaOur house’s traditional weird animal tree. (Yes that’s a #Hoatzin) It’s biodiversity is increasing every year. (Unlike the real world) #christmastree #christmas #yule #wintersolstice
art binch