科學圖說

亞馬遜的母愛(Maternal Love in the Amazon)

麝雉是一種生活在亞馬遜河流域的特有種鳥類，雖然氣味不太好聞，但可是圭亞那的國鳥。牠的幼鳥具有始祖鳥一樣的翼爪，可以在遇到危險時幫助緊急逃跑。當羽翼豐滿時，翼爪就會脫落。這次在亞馬遜雨林有幸拍到雌鳥呵護下的幼鳥，雖然羽翼看似豐滿，但還沒有足夠飛行的能力。牠一直依偎在媽媽的身邊寸步不離。

The hoatzin is an endemic species of the Amazon River region. Although it has a foul odor, it is the national bird of Guyana. Newly hatched birds have wing claws like those of Archaeopteryx. These can be used to help them escape danger, before their wings are strong enough to fly away. Once their wings have fully formed, the claws disappear. I was fortunate to come across this female hoatzin feeding its young. Although the juvenile appears to have fully developed wings, it is still not able to fly. It depends on its mother, staying close to her.