Bird with breath bad enough to keep hunters at bay

The Hoatzin is a turkey-like creature that rarely flies, spends four hours a day eating, and is also known as the stinking pheasant or stinkbird. Unlike the vast majority of its fellow feathered species, the Hoatzin eats a vegetarian diet which it digests with the help of bacteria in its crop. It is the process of food fermentation that gives the bird its characteristic manure-like smell, a repellent makes it unappealing for human hunters.

The long-necked creature, which reaches lengths of 65 centimeters, has blue facial skin, red eyes and a small head and, is native to South America. It has ten long reddish-brown tail feathers and an unusually large crop that prevents the development of flight muscles, and consequently keeps the bird ground ridden.

Considered a rather unagile bird, the hoatzin spends much of its time in the branches of marshland and riverine trees. It has developed claws at the end of its wings which it uses to prevent itself from falling into the water when climbing in nearby vegetation.
The female lays up to five eggs, which once hatched are attractive prey for hawks and other large birds. If young fall into the water below their nests, they tend to swim until they reach the shore.