28 



OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. 



a flock of large, brown, fowl-like birds in a clump of bushes 

 overhanging the water. Their barred wings and tall, delicate 

 crests tell us that they are the bird of all others which we had 

 hoped to see and study. We are floating within a hundred 

 feet of a flock of Hoatzins" — the strange reptile-like, living 

 fossils which are found only in this part of the world, and 

 which are closely related to no other living bird. 



Fig. 13. HoATziNS in the B..\mboos on the Gu.^e.vpiche. 



As we draw near, the birds flutter through the foliage as if 

 their wings were broken. We find that this is their usual 

 mode of progression, and for a most interesting reason. 

 Soon after the young Hoatzins are hatched and while yet 

 unfledged they are able to leave the nest and climb about the 

 branches, and in this they are greatly aided by the use of the 

 wings as arms and hands. The three fingers of the wing are 



