Jacana jacana
The Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana) is a striking medium-sized wader, famed for its extraordinary adaptations to life on floating vegetation. Measuring about 20-25 cm in length with a wingspan of 45-50 cm and weighing 90-130 g, its most distinctive feature is its disproportionately long toes and claws, which distribute its weight, allowing it to "walk on water" across lily pads and other aquatic plants. Adults display a rich chestnut body plumage, contrasting sharply with a black head, neck, a...
This species thrives in a variety of freshwater wetlands, including marshes, swamps, ponds, and slow-moving rivers, characterized by abundant floating aquatic vegetation, typically found in lowland areas.
The Wattled Jacana primarily feeds on a variety of aquatic insects and their larvae, small invertebrates, small fish, and occasionally seeds, gleaned directly from the surface of floating vegetation.
Wattled Jacanas are diurnal and highly active, spending their days meticulously foraging across floating mats of vegetation. Their primary foraging technique involves carefully walking on lily pads and other plants, gleaning insects and small invertebrates directly from the surface or just below....
The Wattled Jacana boasts an extensive distribution across South America, extending from central Panama southwards through Colombia, Venezuela, and the Guianas, reaching across Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and into northern Argentina. It is a largely resident species through...
Least Concern
- The Wattled Jacana is often called the "Jesus bird" or "lily trotter" due to its uncanny ability to walk across floating vegetation, appearing to walk on water. - This species exhibits a rare polyandrous mating system, where a single female mates with up to four or five males, each of whom she ...