The hoatzin stinks. In fact, it stinks so much that it is sometimes called the stinkbird.  The reason for this malodorous nickname comes from the bird’s diet: the hoatzin is the only bird on the planet to leaves all day, every day, causing it to constantly smell like manure.  Leaves are meant to be eaten by animals like cows, not by birds.  

This folivorous diet is not the only thing the hoatzin has in common with cows.  These birds have an enlarged crop to help digest the leaves that can be compared to a bovine’s chambered stomach.  The hoatzin is also a social creature, usually living in flocks of about a dozen or so.

Other than its unusual diet, the hoatzin has another trick up its sleeve (or wing, in this case). Hoatzins hatch with claws, not on their feet, but on their wings.  This seems to be an evolutionary throwback, assisting the hatchlings in climbing up trees while their feathers are growing in.

Hoatzins live in the Amazon rainforest, preferring marshy areas with lots of water (the babies can also swim to evade predators, along with climbing trees).  Despite the fact that they are poor fliers, and sit around most of the time, the hoatzin is not hunted by humans, who are put off by the foul smell and the poor quality of the flesh.  The main threat to the survival of these unique birds (scientists still aren’t sure what they’re related to) is the deforestation of their habitat.

The wattled jacana lives in the tropical wetlands of South America, where it spends its time wading around picking bugs out of the water and off of low lying vegetation.  At first glance, the wattled jacana looks like any other wading bird; long spindly legs and a neck that can stretch out to snap up food.  But this bird has a secret that it is hiding beneath the warm wetland waters.

Don’t worry, it’s not anything sinister.  The wattled jacana just has really, really big feet.  And, while it may seem counterintuitive, these massive feet make this bird more mobile. The long toes help distribute the jacana’s weight over a larger area, which allows it to walk across lily pads and other aquatic plants without sinking.  Not that the wattled jacana can’t swim; this bird is an excellent swimmer, but sometimes prefers to go over the water rather than through it.

There is another unusual thing about the wattled jacana.  Unlike most birds, it is the females of this species that are larger and brighter.  They also control a territory, guard it from other females, and create a harem of males to incubate their eggs and raise their chicks.  The males make excellent dads.  If the floating nest begins taking on water and starts to sink, he’ll pick up the eggs (two under each wing) and move them to a new nest.  

This is the Andean cock-of-the-rock, the national bird of Peru, and it gets its name from its habit of building nests on rocky cliffs and ledges.  The plumage of this bird can range from a rusty brown (only on the females, which are duller than the males) to golden yellow to orange to bright scarlet, depending on the subspecies.

Andean cock-of-the-rocks live in the cloud forests of the Andes mountains.  There, they live off of fruit, insects, and occasionally small reptiles and amphibians.  This is particularly important to the local ecosystem, since the birds help to spread the seeds of the fruit they eat, as well as keeping the small predator population down.

Along with looking completely different from each other, the male and female Andean cock-of-the-rocks also live totally different lives.  The females spend most of their energy building nests and raising chicks, while the males devote most of their time to dancing to attract mates.  And, although it may not seem like a fair living arrangement, the males are more likely to be killed and eaten due to their attention attracting colors and dancing.    

On two tiny islands found off the coast of Ecuador lives a special bird.  This bird is called Phalacrocorax harrisi, or, as it is more commonly called, the flightless cormorant. The flightless cormorant is the largest of all cormorant species, measuring more than three feet long.  Their size, combined with their glossy black feathers and striking blue eyes, makes the flightless cormorant one of the most majestic birds found on the Galapagos Islands.

That is, until they spread their wings.  Let’s just say that there is a reason this bird is called flightless.  That doesn’t bother this cormorant, though. Flightless cormorants are excellent swimmers, spending much of their time diving in the shallows in pursuit of fish, eels, and octopuses.  However, unlike most seagoing birds, cormorant’s feathers aren’t waterproof.  This means that the flightless cormorant has to spend a lot of time in the sun, drying out its feathers so it doesn’t get soggy.

Eating and sitting around isn’t all the flightless cormorant does.  Every year, from July to October, these cormorants breed.  A nest made of seaweed is built right above the high tide line, so that when a cormorant does have to get up and walk from the ocean to their nest, they don’t have very far to go.  Both parents incubate the egg, which hatches during the colder months of the year (in the Southern Equator), a time when food is plentiful and temperatures won’t get hot enough to kill the newly hatched chick.  Once the chick is old enough to start hunting for itself, the mother will leave it with the father, and go on to find a new mate and bring another flightless cormorant into the world.

The Galapagos Islands; home to all manner of strange animals, like giant tortoises, marine iguanas, finches, and penguins.  Yes, penguins.  The Galapagos penguin is the only species of penguin that lives north of the equator and is the rarest in the world.

Penguins are built for cold weather, so in order to survive in a tropical paradise, the Galapagos penguin had to makes some changes.  Eggs are laid in shady spots, and the young are born with light feathers to protect them from the sun (darker colors absorb heat, but lighter colors reflect it), while the adults spend a lot of time in the water to cool down.  

Galapagos penguins have also developed a unique method of thermoregulation.  Whenever the penguins are on land and in the sun, they’ll hunch forward and hold their wings out to keep their feet shady.  This is because heat is released through the blood vessels in the feet, and keeping their feet out of the sun means that they can cool off faster.  

Even though these birds live in a fairly warm location, the cold is still extremely important to them. The Cromwell Current keeps the water where the penguins live significantly colder than the rest of the Pacific Ocean. Cooler water is good, because it means more food.  The Galapagos penguin is so dependent on this chilly current that in El Niño seasons, they don’t breed, because the warmer waters wouldn’t support enough fish to feed chicks.  That doesn’t matter to this penguin, though.  Galapagos penguins mate for life, so even if they don’t have a chick, they’ll still have each other.  

Coragyps atratus is a mashup of Greek and Latin, which translates to raven (corax) vulture (gyps) clad in black (ater).  This is a perfect name for this bird, because Coragyps atratus is more commonly known as the black vulture, and yes, it is a vulture that is black.

The black vulture can be found on all three of the Americas- North, Central and South.  It is a carrion eater, but unlike other vultures, the black vulture does not have a good sense of smell.  In order to find dead animals, it sticks close to other vultures, so when the other vulture finds something to eat, the black vulture can steal it.  Black vultures can be hard to tell apart from the other species of vultures when they are in the air, but one way to tell them apart is the pale spots on the tips of Coragyps atratus’s wings.

With a wingspan of up to 5 feet, the black vulture can be an intimidating bird, especially when it hisses at you (black vultures don’t have a vocal organ, so they can only grunt or hiss). The ancient Mayans associated black vultures with death, modern airports have to watch out for these birds, lest they collide and crash the plane, and the droppings of black vultures can kill trees and other plants.  However, the black vulture plays an important role in the ecosystem, so we must remember to respect this raven-vulture that is clad in black.

The resplendent quetzal is aptly named, since it is considered by many to be the most beautiful bird in the world.  Both male and female resplendent quetzals are colored bright green, red, and white, but it is the males that truly stand out with their long tail feathers, up to three feet long, which is twice as long as their main body.

During breeding season, a pair of quetzals will get together and carve a nest out of a rotting tree. The female lays two eggs, which the male incubates during the day (his long tail feathers stick out of their nesting hole and resemble a fern) and the female incubates during the night.  When the eggs hatch, both parents work together to feed the chicks, and once the chick has fledged, the two will once again go their separate ways.

This bird lives in the tropical cloud forests of Central America, and is an important figure in Mesoamerican mythology.  Guatemalans especially love the resplendent quetzal, making it their national bird, and even naming their currency after it.  Unfortunately for those who admire this lovely bird, the resplendent quetzal is at risk due to loss of habitat and hunting (quetzals and their feathers are immensely popular among tourists and traders).  There is a positive side to this, though.  With the creation of more sanctuaries and other protected lands meant for eco-tourists, the resplendent quetzal’s population is slowly recovering.

Say hello to the kakapo, the world’s only flightless parrot.  A native of New Zealand, the kakapo is also nocturnal (it’s also called the night parrot for this reason), the heaviest bird in the Psittaciforme order, and critically endangered.

The indigenous Maori people had already been hunting the kakapo for its feathers and meat, but it wasn’t until Europeans showed up that the population plummeted.  The non-native dogs and cats that were introduced to the island (the only mammals native to New Zealand are bats) preyed on the defenseless kakapo, whose only method of preservation was to stand still and try to blend into the greenery.  

Unfortunately, this didn’t work, since kakapos have a strong smell (which helps them locate each other), making it easy for the sharp nosed predators to find them.  Noticing the steep decline in the kakapo population, these long lived parrots (kakapos can live up to 90 years, giving them the greatest life expectancy of any bird) were moved to smaller islands that were free of cats in an attempt to stave off extinction.  

There are very few kakapo left in the world, making it one of the rarest birds.  Thankfully, the Kakapo Recovery Program has increased the population from only 18 in the 1970s to 124 today.

This is no ordinary pigeon. Goura victoria, the Victoria crowned pigeon, is the largest pigeon on the planet (almost 3 feet long), nearly the size of its extinct cousin, the dodo.  This bird also differs from other pigeons because it sports a fabulous crest composed of blue feathers tipped in white.

Despite being named after Queen Victoria, the Victoria crowned pigeon does not live on the British Isles.  Instead, it is found in New Guinea, a Pacific island containing the countries of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.  Here it spends its time walking around the forests, searching for fruits, seeds, and insects.

Interestingly, the Victoria crowned pigeon is one of the most common birds to be kept in captivity, but one of the rarest in the wild.  This is partially because of its spectacular plumage, but also because these birds show no fear towards humans, and are easily captured.  Fortunately for this pigeon, it has become illegal to catch them with the intent to sell as pets or zoo specimens, and the wild pigeon population is making a comeback.

What if I told you that there is an animal that can be found in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, is carnivorous, has 15 sets of legs, and is probably IN YOUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW AND IT LOOKS LIKE THIS!!

Although it may look like some sort of alien monster, it’s actually the humble house centipede. They’re relatively harmless (most of these arthropods couldn’t hurt you if they tried due to their tiny teeth) and eat the bugs you should really be worrying about (aka cockroaches, termites, silverfish, and bedbugs).  House centipedes don’t carry disease, don’t destroy your property, and try to stay out of people’s way.  

The body of a house centipede is only about an inch long, but thanks to those ridiculously long legs and antennae, it can look much bigger.  It also spends a significant amount of time keeping those legs clean. Like a cat, it will groom itself, meticulously making sure that everything is in proper order.  So next time you see one of these centipedes crawling out of your drain, try not to scream or panic, and remember that this is one bug that you don’t want to squish.