Among their unusual characteristics, hoatzin chicks have claws on the front edges of their wings. If in danger, chicks will often jump from their nest into the water. They use the claws to climb back into the nest.
Poem by Paula Lambert - How History Helps Us Survive: Hoatzin
When the nestling spies the viper, letting go
becomes a kind of grace. God is the ghost
of every feathered thing that ever dreamed
of drawing breath. God surrounds us.
And it's not the splash of the river that tells us
we've been saved. It's the sound of what swims
toward us. The new danger. The ongoing need
to survive. History is older than hope.
Newly doused and still missing muscle,
the nestling knows this: how to open his wings.
How to claw his way back to where he belongs.
Credits:
APPs Shabby Christmas, Wizzo
APMPs Gelid, Conserve, 4You
Oscraps collab Journey
Potpourri Paperie 5
LoopDaLoop Art Strokes 6
Sketchy Loop Da Loop 1
Autumn Template Album 1
Artsy Stains 7
pattern generated at recursivedrawing.com
public domain image of a hoatzin
Fonts: Impronta, Moon Runes (the "R" on the left is the Norse rune for "journey,") Dictionary, Naomi Blake Script