Jacanas, also known as ‘lily trotter’ and ‘lotus bird’ are aquatic animals belonging to the family Jacanidae.

They can walk easily or balance on lily pads owing to their straight claws and hence the nickname.

The eight species of the family Jacanidae include the Northern jacana (Jacana spinosa), the African jacana (Actophilornis africanus),

the Australian lotus bird (Irediparra gallinacea), the Wattled jacana(Jacana jacana), and the pheasant tailed jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus).

The jacana is mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, Central, and South America.

Their habitats mainly constitute inland lakes, ponds, marshes, and floating vegetation.

They use their long legs and elongated toes to walk on floating vegetation in search of food, to defend territories, or go into hiding when confronted by predators.

The jacana’s most common threats include purple gallinule, snakes, turtles, and floodwater. They are also great swimmers and divers.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, the jacana is declared as the species of Least Concern because of its stable population.

One unique characteristic of these birds is that they are polyandrous in nature which means the females mate with more than one male.

This breeding system is not very common among birds. The females exhibit dominant traits over the males and guard their territories against rivals.

Females are also more aggressive and larger in size than males. Male birds build the nest, look after the chicks and incubate the eggs.

Jacanas are usually 6-23 in (15-58 cm) in length with their toes and claws ranging up to 4 in (10.2 cm) in some species. They are almost thrice the size of a Bee hummingbird 2-2.4 in (5-6.1 cm).

They are medium-sized birds and weigh around 0.1-0.6 lb (40-275 g).

Not much is known about the height jacanas can attain while flying but they are weak fliers. They usually fly for a short distance.

These birds are omnivores and use their bills to grab their food. They primarily feed on insects and other invertebrates. Their diet mainly consists of insects, snails, worms, seeds, and small fishes.

The jacana is found mainly in water bodies containing floating vegetation like inland lakes, ponds, marshes, wet grassy areas, and farmlands.

They depend on wetlands to survive. The floating aquatic plants have roots attached to the substrate or float on the water column.

These birds build nests on these submerged plants. They are usually found from sea level to 8,000 ft.

Jacanas have a unique way of breeding which is polyandrous in nature. Females are dominant over males and breed with more than one male.

The breeding season falls somewhere around the rainy season. The female jacana usually initiates the process and grows larger with more prominent tail feathers.

Once the breeding starts to take place, the male jacanas start building the nest on the water bodies. Their nests are made up of water lily leaves and other plant materials on top of the floating vegetation.

Females usually lay at least about four eggs. It is then the responsibility of the male bird to incubate the eggs and look after the fledgling.

After almost 22-28 days of incubation, chicks emerge from the eggs. The chicks have a camouflage design on their plumage.

The lifespan of jacanas, they live approximately 6.5 years.

Jacana baby birds can swim really well just like their parents. Jacanas are known to be great swimmers and divers.

A jacana chick can stay underwater for long periods of time as they have special breathing holes on their bills.

So, they are capable of diving down inside the water for safety with only their bills emerging outside.

This ‘snorkeling‘ behavior of the chicks has been noted in young wattled jacanas, pheasant-tailed jacanas, and northern jacanas.

The term jacana comes from the term jasanแ, which is of an undetermined language from the Tupian languages.

Are they aggressive?Both male and female partner up to protect their territory and are a bit aggressive in nature.

If predators enter their boundaries, males from their nests call the female bird who might attack the predators with the help of their wings or bills.

So, they only get aggressive when they sense danger from predators.

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