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 



I from the older members of the flock except by 



f 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 



P 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 



