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
hoary cress,
hoary marmot,
hoary-headed,
hoast,
hoatching,
hoatzin,
hoax,
hob,
hoban,
hobart,
hobbema
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