What A Strange Bird...!

Now here is something I have never heard of, but it doesn't really surprise me.

There are just so many strange birds and other animals out there that you could find out something new each and every day. Maybe that's one reason there are so many bird watchers out there! Seems like we are always on a quest to find something strange or different, and this bird would certainly fit the bill!

Thanks to the fine folks over at Listverse for finding stuff like this to educate us all!

Bird With Hands

 

It is said a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but of the 10,000 species of birds on earth, there is one species with its own hands. The Hoatzin is a bizarre, primitive relative of the Cuckoo bird native to South American Rain forests, with a strange reptilian relic. When the chicks hatch, it quickly becomes apparent that these birds have retained incredibly primitive traits stemming back to birds hypothesized therapod dinosaur origins. Two hands, armed with sharp claws extend from the bird’s wing joints, and are used to climb the trees to safety. Interestingly, the hoatzin is also the only ruminant bird, and has evolved the same dieting system as cattle, feeding upon fermenting green plant material in a second stomach

This bird looks like something that belongs in a B horror movie, ya know? Wonder what other surprises Mother Nature has in store for us? On second thought, I probably don't want to know!

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. It got cold again last night, and it's warmer by the stove!