For the Melbourne suburb, see Jacana, Victoria.

Jacanas
Comb-crested Jacana (Irediparra gallinacea)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Jacanidae Stejneger, 1885
Genera
Microparra Actophilornis Irediparra Hydrophasianus Metopidius Jacana

The jacanas or jaçanas (sometimes referred to as Jesus birds or lily trotters) are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone. See Etymology below for pronunciation.

Contents 1 Biology 2 Etymology 3 Species 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biology

They 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. They have sharp bills and rounded wings, and many species also have wattles on their foreheads.^[1]

The females are larger than the males; the latter, as in some other wader families like the phalaropes, take responsibility for incubation, and some species (notably the Northern Jacana) are polyandrous. However, adults of both sexes look identical, as with most shorebirds. They construct relatively flimsy nests on floating vegetation, and lay eggs with dark irregular lines on their shells, providing camouflage amongst water weeds^[1].

Their diet consists of insects and other invertebrates picked from the floating vegetation or the water’s surface.

Most species are sedentary, but the Pheasant-tailed Jacana migrates from the north of its range into peninsular India and southeast Asia.

[edit] Etymology

Jacana is Linnæus' scientific Latin spelling of the Brazilian Portuguese jaçanã, pronounced [ʒasaˈnã], from the Tupi name of the bird. Anglicized pronunciations include /ˈdʒækənə/ JAK-ə-nə in the UK,^[2] and /dʒəˈkɑːnə/ jə-KAH-nə in the US and Australia.^[3][4] American dictionaries also give pronunciations closer to the Portuguese: /ˌʒɑːsəˈnɑː/ zhah-sə-NAH and /ˌdʒɑːsəˈnɑː/ jah-sə-NAH.^[5]

[edit] Species

FAMILY: JACANIDAE

• Genus: Microparra
  • Lesser Jacana - Microparra capensis
• Genus: Actophilornis
  • African Jacana - Actophilornis africana
  • Madagascar Jacana - Actophilornis albinucha
• Genus: Irediparra
  • Comb-crested Jacana - Irediparra gallinacea
• Genus: Hydrophasianus
  • Pheasant-tailed Jacana - Hydrophasianus chirurgus
• Genus: Metopidius
  • Bronze-winged Jacana - Metopidius indicus
• Genus: Jacana
  • Northern Jacana - Jacana spinosa
  • Wattled Jacana - Jacana jacana

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jacanidae

• Jacana videos on the Internet Bird Collection