The Northern
Jacana has the longest toes
relative to body length at 10cm or 4 in.
The Northern
Jacana - Jacana spinosa - is a Mexican and Central American species.
Eight species of Jaçana are known
from six genera. Jacanas are a group
of wetland birds, which are identifiable by their huge feet, which enable them
to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred
habitat. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone.
The African
Jacana - Actophilornis Africana – are conspicuous and unmistakable
birds and are found in sub-Saharan Africa. In
Southern Africa it is locally abundant in northern Botswana,
the Caprivi Strip, Zimbabwe,
Mozambique and eastern South Africa, while more scarce elsewhere in Namibia and South Africa.
Description
Females are
larger than the males. They have chestnut upperparts with black wingtips, rear
neck and eye stripe. The underparts are white, with a chestnut belly patch in
adult birds. The blue bill extends up as a Coot-like head shield and the legs
and very long toes are grey.
Call
Jacanas are quite
vocal, the call being a screeching “kooworr”
as well as a variety of other sounds.
Food
It mainly eats
insects, doing most of its foraging on floating vegetation, walking or running
with its large feet while plucking prey from plants and the water surface.
Breeding
Sequentially
polyandrous, meaning that one female mates with multiple males over the course
of one breeding season. It is highly territorial, as males fight each other for
control of prime breeding territory, displaying and calling from a calling post
made by pulling a few plant stems together. Egg-laying season is year-round,
peaking from November-March. The female lays four black-marked brown eggs in a
floating nest. The male alone cares for the chicks. The male African Jacana has
the ability to pick up and carry his chicks underneath his wings as well, a
remarkable adaptation for parental care.
Conservation status – Least Concern
Not threatened,
as its distribution has remained largely unchanged for the past century.
Bird watching
These striking
birds can be seen on the following Aves
Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures: -
Aves Highlands / Tembe Birding Tour / Safari /
Adventure.
Aves KZN Birding
Tour / Safari / Adventure.
Aves North East
Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.
Aves North West Birding Tour
/ Safari / Adventure.