Illustration of hoatzin
hoatzin
noun
hoa·tzin
wä(t)-ˈsēn 
: a crested large South American bird (Opisthocomos hoazin) with blue facial skin, red eyes, brown plumage marked with white above, and claws on the first and second digits of the wing when young
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Chickens share the most DNA with the first bird ancestor, closely followed by hoatzin and emu.
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Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2015
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Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2015
Cite this Entry
“Hoatzin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoatzin. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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