One of the frequent birds Kongo saw during his five days in Ecuador’s rainforest was the hoatzin (hoo-AT-sin). It’s a weird bird by almost any standard. In the jungle, the natives refer to this bird as the “stinky turkey.” It smells. Badly.

Hoatzins have a digestive system that is unique among birds, fermenting food in their lower esophagus and crop, similar to the rumen of a cow. Their diet consists almost exclusively of leaves, which are hard to digest, and their numerous small “stomachs” allow the leaves to go through a fermentation process. Hoatzins are the only bird on Earth that ferment their food. Bacteria produce enzymes to help break down cellulose in tough leaf material. The fermentation of foliage in the Hoatzin’s releases methane, which the bird expels through burping. The combination of their leafy diet, foregut fermentation, and frequent burping is why they stink. Aromatic compounds in leaves Hoatzins consume leaves containing aromatic compounds, which, combined with bacterial fermentation, contributes to their disagreeable, manure-like odor. Because of their smell and taste, Hoatzins are not heavily hunted by people. Or any other animal. They really don’t have predators and are one of the few animals that ward of the upper food chain by being thoroughly disagreeable.

They make a hoarse wheezing, coughing sound that sounds like asthma. They are frequently spotted along the lakes and creeks of the rainforest and are found in groups of seven or eight birds.

The hoatzin are clumsy fliers, awkwardly thrashing their wings and crashing into branches.

If this unusual birds looks prehistoric it’s because it is. Hoatzins are the last surviving members of a bird line that branched off in its own direction 64 million years ago, shortly after the extinction event that killed the nonavian dinosaurs.

Because of the fermentation that occurs in its digestive system, these birds are basically drunk all the time. Drunk, bad tasting, smelly, and lousy fliers is no way to go through life, in Kongo’s opinion. They are also not real smart. Or maybe they’re just drunk all the time. They will watch you paddle up to them for several minutes and then freak out and fly away like you just appeared out of nowhere.

They do look exotic so Kongo has a lot of pictures of these guys. When Kongo tried and failed to photograph quick moving monkeys in the trees, he could always count on nearby hoatzins to fill up his camera card.

Travel safe. Have fun.