Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6 m above the river, an important feature for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.
在亚马逊河和奥里诺科河的河岸上，生活着一种在飞之前就会游泳的鸟，飞起来像一只肥硕的鸡，吃绿叶，有牛一般的胃，幼年时翼上有爪。它们在河流上方约4.6米处建造家园，这对于保障幼鸟安全非常重要。这种鸟称为麝雉。
In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common bires, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though is only found in the young.
从外表上看，雌鸟和雄鸟非常相似，背部为棕色，下侧为奶油色和红色。头部很小，顶上有一大簇羽毛，眼睛呈鲜红色，肤色为蓝色。麝雉的近亲是一种常见鸟类布谷鸟，尽管它的最显著特征只出现在幼鸟身上。
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak, they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive bires must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lost their claws.
麝雉幼鸟在每只翅膀的前端有一只爪子，末端还有一只爪子。利用这四只爪子和喙, 它们可以在灌木丛中四处攀爬，看起来很像原始鸟类。当麝雉幼鸟学会飞行时，爪子会消失。
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.
在12月至3月这段干燥的日子里，麝雉分成20至30只一对，在森林里飞来飞去，但在4月雨季开始时，它们为了生产，组成更小的生活单元，每队有2至7只鸟。
