Hoatzin
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A bird of the species Opisthocomus hoazin of the order Opisthocomiformes, with claws on the wing fingers of the juvenile and an enlarged crop used as a rumen.
"Hoatzins are large birds — at about twenty-six inches from head to tail, they are much larger than Archaeopteryx — with a yellowish chest, brown striped back, and a long narrow tail (Figure 53). Hoatzins are unusual in several ways, one of which is that hatchling hoatzins have claws on their wings. Although some other birds have vestigial wing claws, the hoatzin is the only species known to have functional wing or hand claws."
- 2 crested ill-smelling South American bird whose young have claws on the first and second digits of the wings wordnet
Example
More examples"Hoatzins are large birds — at about twenty-six inches from head to tail, they are much larger than Archaeopteryx — with a yellowish chest, brown striped back, and a long narrow tail (Figure 53). Hoatzins are unusual in several ways, one of which is that hatchling hoatzins have claws on their wings. Although some other birds have vestigial wing claws, the hoatzin is the only species known to have functional wing or hand claws."
Etymology
From Nahuatl huāctzin (which probably designated a different bird).
Related phrases
More for "hoatzin"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.