HOATZINS AT HOME 131 



yards. If several were sitting on a branch and 

 one was shot, the others would often show no 

 symptoms of concern or alarm, either at the 

 noise of the gun or the fall of their companion. 

 A hoatzin which may have been crouched close 

 to the slain bird would continue to preen its 

 plumage without a glance downward. When 

 the young had attained their first full plumage 

 it was almost impossible to distinguish them 

 from the older members of the flock except by 

 their generally smaller size. 



But the heart of our interest in the hoatzins 

 centered in the nestlings. Some kind Provi- 

 dence directed the time of our visit, which I 

 chose against the advice of some of the very 

 inhabitants of New Amsterdam. It turned out 

 that we were on the scene exactly at the right 

 time. A week either way would have yielded 

 much poorer results. The nestlings, in seven 

 occupied nests, observed as we drifted along 

 shore, or landed and climbed among the thorns, 

 were in an almost identical stage of develop- 

 ment. In fact, the greatest difference in size 

 occurred between two nestlings of the same 

 brood. Their down was a thin, scanty, fuzzy 

 covering, and the flight feathers were less than 



