#jacanidae

Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana) standing on a cabybara, family Jacanidae, order Charadriiformes, Panatanal, Brazil

A pheasant tailed jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus) in Asia

You know I don't think I've done a single jacana!! I'll do the whole family, and people are welcome to request specific species anytime.

Wattled Jacana Jacana jacana

A wader found throughout much of South America east of the Andes, as well as western Panama and Trinidad. The wattled jacana lays four black-marked brown eggs in a floating nest. The male, as with other jacanas and some other wader families like the phalaropes, takes responsibility for incubation, with two eggs held between each wing and the breast. The females are polyandrous and will help to defend the nests of up to four mates.

Least Concern

It's scientific name is: Jacana spinosa.

CHARADRIIFORMES / Jacanidae / Jacana

Description 🌿 :

The northern jacana has a dark brown body with a black head and neck. In addition its bill has yellow patches and its forehead has a yellow wattle. Its bill has a white base. When a jacana is in flight, its yellowish-green primary and secondary feathers are visible. Also visible are yellow bony spurs on the leading edge of the wings, which it can use to defend itself and its young. The greenish colour of the wing feathers is produced by a pigment, rather rare in birds, called zooprasinin, a copper containing organic compound.

Juveniles have a white supercilium and white lores. The female jacana is around twice as big as the male, averaging 145.4 g (5.13 oz) compared to 86.9 g (3.07 oz). Jacanas average 241 mm (8 inches) in length with a wingspan averaging 508 mm (20 inches).

Young jacana chicks are covered in down and have patterns of orange, browns, black and some white on them. Older chicks are gray and have brownish upper parts.

Summary 🍂:

The northern jacana or northern jaçana (Jacana spinosa) is a wader which is known as a resident breeder from coastal Mexico to western Panama, and on Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola in the Caribbean. It sometimes known to breed in Texas, United States, and has also been recorded on several occasions as a vagrant in Arizona. The jacanas are a group of wetland birds, which are identifiable by their huge feet and claws, which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat. In Jamaica, this bird is also known as the 'Jesus bird', as it appears to walk on water.

Distribution and Habitat 🪶:

The northern jacana ranges Mexico to Panama, although they occasionally visit the southern United States, with vagrants being seen in places such as Arizona. It mainly lives in coastal areas. Jacanas live on floating vegetation in swamps, marshes, and ponds.

Do you want to know more about the Northern Jacana?! 🫧

Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana)