The Neoaves branch of birds includes ten groups of birds. Most of these are what biologists have named the “Magnificent Seven”: landbirds, waterbirds, tropicbirds, cuckoos, nightjars, doves and flamingos. The other three groups are known as the “orphans” and include the shorebirds, cranes and hoatzin, a species from South America
The hoatzin is a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riparian forests, and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco basins in South America.
It is the only extant species in the genus Opisthocomus which is the only extant genus in the Opisthocomidae family under the order of Opisthocomiformes.
The taxonomic position of this family is still far from clear.
The hoatzin is notable for its chicks having primitive claws on two of their wing digits; the species also is unique in possessing a digestive system capable of fermentation and the effective breaking-down of plant matter
This bird is also the National bird of Guyana
IUCN Status: Least concern
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