Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 70, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 November 1918 — BIRD PUZZLE TO SCIENTISTS [ARTICLE]

BIRD PUZZLE TO SCIENTISTS

“Hoatzin," Dweller in the Amazon Valley, Believed to Be Direct Descendant of Pterodactyl. The dense tropic jungle of the Amazon valley is something more than merely a jungle. It is the point where the dim ages of the past meet the present. Many of its plants and animals seem to be at least cousins tn those that existed in. and before the coal age of the earth. One of these “throw-backs” is the hoatzin, the strange bird whose home is in those almost inaccessible regions of tangled forest, ipuddy rivers and daily rainstorms. The hoatzin is not a new discovery. It has been known to scientists for a long time and has always been somewhat of a puzzle. It shows so much of the reptilian in its makeup, especially when young, that the experts are almost convinced that it is the direct -descendant of the pterodactyl, that giant flying birdreptile that soared over the newborn earth in the days when the caveman was first learning to pit his dawning intellect agaiiftt the strength and cunning of the»brute. When grown It shows structural resemblance to sev-i eral classes of birds, including the pea* fowl and the domestic chicken. William Beebe, curator of birds for the New York Zoological park and director of the Ornithological society’s research station in British Guiana, devotes a chapter in his book, “Jungle Peace” to the hoatzin. 4