hoatzin

[ hoh-at-sin, waht-sin ]
/ hoʊˈæt sɪn, ˈwɑt sɪn /

noun

a blue-faced, crested bird, Opisthocomus hoazin, of the Amazon and Orinoco forests, having as a nestling a large, temporary claw on the second and third digits of the forelimb, for climbing among the tree branches.
Also hoactzin.

Origin of hoatzin

1655–65; ≪ Nahuatl huāctzīn, huāhtzīn name for several hen-sized birds of the Valley of Mexico, apparently applied indiscriminately by early naturalists to similar New World birds

Words nearby hoatzin

Example sentences from the Web for hoatzin

British Dictionary definitions for hoatzin

hoatzin

hoactzin

/ (həʊˈætsɪn) /

noun

a unique South American gallinaceous bird, Opisthocomus hoazin, with a brownish plumage, a very small crested head, and clawed wing digits in the young: family Opisthocomidae

Word Origin for hoatzin

C17: from American Spanish, from Nahuatl uatzin pheasant