Jacana
Encyclopedia
The jaçanas are a group of tropical wader
s in the family
Jacanidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone. See Etymology below for pronunciation.
Eight species of jaçana are known from six genera. The fossil
record of this family is restricted to a recent fossil of the Wattled Jaçana
from Brazil and an Pliocene
fossil of an extinct species, Jacana farrandi, from Florida
. A fossil from Miocene rocks in the Czech Republic was assigned to this family, but more recent analysis disputes the placement and moves the species to the Coraciidae.
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.
The females are larger than the males; the latter, as in some other wader families like the phalarope
s, take responsibility for incubation, and some species (notably the Northern Jaçana) 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.
Their diet consists of insect
s and other invertebrate
s picked from the floating vegetation or the water’s surface.
Most species are sedentary, but the Pheasant-tailed Jaçana migrates
from the north of its range into peninsular India
and southeast Asia
.
spelling of the Brazilian Portuguese
jaçanã, which is from a Tupi
name of the bird.
The Portuguese word is pronounced approximately ʒasaˈnã. As in façade
, Provençal
, and araçari
, the Ç
is meant to be pronounced as an S. US dictionaries give various pronunciations: ˌʒɑːsəˈnɑː , /ˌdʒɑːsəˈnɑː/ , as well as the anglicised dʒəˈkɑːnə , which is the only pronunciation in an Australian dictionary. A British dictionary gives ˈdʒækənə for the spelling "jacana" and /ʒæsəˈnɑː/ for "jaçana".
_in_hyderabad_w2_img_8384.jpg)
_toes_w2_img_8525.jpg)
FAMILY: JACANIDAE
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Jacanidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone. See Etymology below for pronunciation.
Eight species of jaçana are known from six genera. The fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
record of this family is restricted to a recent fossil of the Wattled Jaçana
Wattled Jacana
The Wattled Jacana Jacana jacana is a wader which is a resident breeder from western Panama and Trinidad south through most of South America east of the Andes....
from Brazil and an Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
fossil of an extinct species, Jacana farrandi, from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. A fossil from Miocene rocks in the Czech Republic was assigned to this family, but more recent analysis disputes the placement and moves the species to the Coraciidae.
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.
The females are larger than the males; the latter, as in some other wader families like the phalarope
Phalarope
A phalarope or wadepiper is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus Phalaropus of the bird family Scolopacidae. They are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the Actitis and Terek Sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids...
s, take responsibility for incubation, and some species (notably the Northern Jaçana) are polyandrous
Polyandry
Polyandry refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. The form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more brothers is known as "fraternal polyandry", and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered...
. 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.
Their diet consists of insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and other invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s picked from the floating vegetation or the water’s surface.
Most species are sedentary, but the Pheasant-tailed Jaçana migrates
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
from the north of its range into peninsular India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and southeast Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
Etymology and Pronunciation
Jacana is Linnæus' scientific LatinBinomial nomenclature
Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...
spelling of the Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
jaçanã, which is from a Tupi
Old Tupi language
Old Tupi or Classical Tupi is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the native Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who lived close to the sea. It belongs to the Tupi–Guarani language family, and which has a written history spanning the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries...
name of the bird.
The Portuguese word is pronounced approximately ʒasaˈnã. As in façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, Provençal
Provençal
Provençal may refer to:*Provençal, meaning "of Provence", a region of France*Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the south-east of France*Provençal, meaning the whole Occitan language...
, and araçari
Aracari
The aracaris are medium-sized toucans in the genus Pteroglossus. As denoted by the presence of the cedilla on the C , the proper pronunciation is "ahr-uh-SAHR-ee" not "ahr-uh-KAR-ee"....
, the Ç
Ç
is a Latin script letter, used in the Albanian, Azerbaijani, Ligurian, Tatar, Turkish, Turkmen, Kurdish and Zazaki alphabets. This letter also appears in Catalan, French, Friulian, Occitan and Portuguese as a variant of the letter “c”...
is meant to be pronounced as an S. US dictionaries give various pronunciations: ˌʒɑːsəˈnɑː , /ˌdʒɑːsəˈnɑː/ , as well as the anglicised dʒəˈkɑːnə , which is the only pronunciation in an Australian dictionary. A British dictionary gives ˈdʒækənə for the spelling "jacana" and /ʒæsəˈnɑː/ for "jaçana".
Species
- Genus: Microparra
- Lesser JacanaLesser JacanaThe Lesser Jacana is a species of bird in the Jacanidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Microparra....
- Microparra capensis
- Lesser Jacana
- Genus: ActophilornisActophilornisActophilornis is a genus of jacana. It contains two species restricted to Africa and its surrounding islands.* African Jacana, Actophilornis africana* Madagascar Jacana, Actophilornis albinucha...
- African JacanaAfrican JacanaThe African Jacana is a jacana. The jacanas are a group of waders in the family Jacanidae, which 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 are found worldwide within the tropical...
- Actophilornis africana - Madagascar JacanaMadagascar JacanaThe Madagascar Jacana is a species of bird in the Jacanidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 28 July 2007....
- Actophilornis albinucha
- African Jacana
- Genus: Irediparra
- Comb-crested JacanaComb-crested JacanaThe Comb-crested Jacana , also known as the Lotusbird or Lilytrotter, is the only species of jacana in the genus Irediparra...
- Irediparra gallinacea
- Comb-crested Jacana
- Genus: Hydrophasianus
- Pheasant-tailed JacanaPheasant-tailed JacanaThe Pheasant-tailed Jacana is a jacana in the monotypic genus Hydrophasianus. Jacanas are a group of waders in the family Jacanidae that are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, their preferred habitat...
- Hydrophasianus chirurgus
- Pheasant-tailed Jacana
- Genus: Metopidius
- Bronze-winged JacanaBronze-winged JacanaThe Bronze-winged Jacana is a jacana. It is the only member of the genus Metopidius. The jacanas are a group of waders in the family Charadriidae, which are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred...
- Metopidius indicus
- Bronze-winged Jacana
- Genus: JacanaJacana (genus)Jacana is the genus comprising the two jacanas of the Americas: the Northern Jacana, Jacana spinosa, and the Wattled Jacana, Jacana jacana....
- Northern JacanaNorthern JacanaThe Northern Jacana or Northern Jaçana is a wader which is a resident breeder from coastal Mexico to western Panama, and on Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola. It sometimes breeds in Texas, USA, and has also been recorded on several occasions as a vagrant in Arizona...
- Jacana spinosa - Wattled JacanaWattled JacanaThe Wattled Jacana Jacana jacana is a wader which is a resident breeder from western Panama and Trinidad south through most of South America east of the Andes....
- Jacana jacana
- Northern Jacana
External links
- Jacana videos on the Internet Bird Collection