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After another bird-filled stop, where we saw our first turkey-like hoatzin — whose ungainly size and clumsy movements made us all laugh — we were transferred into two smaller canoes.

Scientists were surprised to learn that some hoatzin still use their claws to climb and move around.

A hoatzin, a primitive bird like a living archaeopteryx, called in the distance as we baited hand-lines with — what else? — gristly chunks of local beef.

One animal they were eager to see was the hoatzin, which is a “punk-rock looking bird,” he said, because of its mohawk.

Chickens share the most DNA with the first bird ancestor, closely followed by hoatzin and emu.