Jacanas | Jacanidae

Jacana's | Jacanas

There are eight species in this small family, spread across tropical freshwater wetlands worldwide. In this region it is represented by African Jacana and Lesser Jacana. Their hallmark is enormously elongated toes and claws. These spread the bird's weight over a wide area, letting it walk across water lilies, water hyacinth and other floating vegetation. The body is compact, and the flight is short and fluttering with legs trailing. Jacanas pick insects, snails and other invertebrates from leaf surfaces, often flipping a leaf edge to reach prey beneath, and occasionally take seeds. In African Jacana the usual sex roles are reversed. The female is markedly larger than the male, holds a large territory and mates with several males, laying a clutch for each. The male alone builds a flimsy floating nest and incubates the four glossy, black-scrawled eggs. He also raises the chicks by himself, tucking them under his wings when danger threatens so that only a bundle of legs dangles below. Lesser Jacana shows this role reversal far less clearly. Calls are rasping, croaking and chattering. Their closest relatives are the painted-snipes.