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 (爪) on its wings when young.They build their homes about 4.6m above the river,an important feature (特征) for the safety of the young.It is called the hoatzin.
在亚马逊河和奥利诺科河沿岸,居住着一种鸟,这种鸟在会飞前在河里游泳；飞起来像是一只肥肥的鸡；吃绿叶；有个像牛一样的胃并且在没长大时有在翅膀上长有爪子.它们在河上4.6米高的地方筑巢,这是为确保幼鸟安全的一个标志.这鸟的名字是麝雉.
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 birds,cuckoos.Its most striking feature,though,is only found in the young.
从外观上看,雄鸟和雌鸟长的很相像,背上都是棕色的,下面都是乳白色和红色的.头很小,在头顶上有一大块羽毛,明亮的红眼睛,蓝皮肤.跟麝雉最近血缘关系的是平常的一种鸟,叫做杜鹃.它的最明显的特征,只是在年幼时才被发现.
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 (喙),they can climb about in the bushes,looking very much like primitive birds must have done.When the young hoatzins have learned to fly,they lose their claws.
麝雉幼鸟的爪子一个长在翅膀的前缘,一只长在翅膀尖.用这四只爪子和喙,它们可以在灌木丛中攀爬,看起来非常像原始的鸟类做的事情.当麝雉的幼鸟学会飞翔后,它们的爪子就不存在了.
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.
在十二月和次年的三月的干旱期内,麝雉通常以20至30为一群在森林里飞翔.但是到了四月份雨季来临的时候,它们就以二到七只为单位聚集在一起,通常是为了繁衍的目的.