1396 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



W hen we a p - 

 proached a nest, the 

 occupant paid no at- 

 tention until we actu- 

 ally came close to a 

 branch, or shook it. 

 She then rose, pro- 

 testing hoarseW, and 

 lifting wings and tail 

 as she croaked. At 

 the last moment, often 

 when onl}^ a yard 

 away, she flew off and 

 away to a distance of 

 fifty feet or more. 

 W a t c li i n g closely, 

 when she realized that 

 we really had inten- 

 tions on her nest, she 



returned and perched fifteen or twenty feet 

 away, croaking continually, her mate a few feet 

 farther off, and all the hoatzins within sight 

 or hearing joining in sympathetic disharmony, 

 all with synchronous lifting of tail and wings 

 at each utterance. 



The voice of the female is appreciably deep- 

 er than that of the male, having more of a gurg- 

 ling character, like one of the notes of a curas- 

 sow. The usual note of both sexes is an unwrit- 

 able, hoarse, creaking sound, quite cicada or 

 frog-like. 



Their tameness was astounding, and they 

 would often sit unmoved, while we were walk- 



ing noisily about, or focusing the camera within 

 two 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 b}' their 

 generalh' smaller size. 



But the heart of our interest in the hnatzins 

 centered in the nestlings. Some kind Providence 

 directed the time of our visit, which I chose 

 against the advice of some of the very inhabit- 

 ants of New Amsterdam. It turned out that 

 we were on tlic scene exactly at the right time. 



A week either way 

 would have yielded 

 much poorer results. 

 The nestlings in seven 

 occupied nests, ob- 

 served as we drifted 

 along shore, or landed 

 and climbed among 

 the thorns, were in an 

 almost identical stage 

 of development. In 

 fact, the greatest dif- 

 ference in size oc- 

 curred between two 

 nestlings of the same 

 brood. Their down 

 was a thin, scanty, 

 wizzy covering, and 



NESTLING HOATZINS 

 Climbing- witli neck, fingers and toes. 



