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Northern Jacana

Jacana spinosaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Jacanas (Jacanidae)

Northern Jacana Portrait
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General

Northern Jacana: Rail-like relative of plovers and shorebirds; is unique in having extremely long toes. Body is chestnut-brown with black head and neck, and flashy yellow-green flight feathers. Forehead has a fleshy orange-yellow frontal shield arising from base of bill. Sexes are similar, but female is slightly larger. Juvenile is gray-brown above with black on back of neck and crown, and has all white underparts.

Range and Habitat

Northern Jacana: Found from south Texas to Panama. Found in marshes, flooded fields, and slow-moving waters.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"jik"

Interesting Facts

  • The Northern Jacana is very similar to the Wattled Jacana, with which it overlaps in Panama, and was formerly considered conspecific with that form.
  • In Jamaica this bird is also known as the 'Jesus bird', as it appears to walk on water.
  • They are quarrelsome and often engage in combat with one another, using sharp spurs on the bend of the wing.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Northern Jacana
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Jacana spinosa
Length9 - 10 Inches
Wingspan20 Inches

Northern Jacana

Northern Jacana: Rail-like relative of plovers and shorebirds; is unique in having extremely long toes. Body is chestnut-brown with black head and neck, and flashy yellow-green flight feathers. Forehead has a fleshy orange-yellow frontal shield arising from base of bill. Weak mothlike flight.

● Song: "jik"

● Foraging & Feeding: Northern Jacana: Feeds almost exclusively on insects, but will occasionally take fish. Forages on top of floating vegetation, using its long toes for support while walking; moves rapidly and erratically while gleaning insects from vegetation.

● Breeding & nesting: Northern Jacana: Lays three to five brown eggs with black streaks in a nest made of floating marsh plants, built up just enough to keep the eggs from drowning. Male incubates eggs for 22 to 24 days, and then tends precocial young; female mates with several males each season.

● Similar species: Northern Jacana: None in North America.

Flight Pattern

Slow flight with shallow flaps and glides. Wings held above head briefly upon landing.
Northern Jacana Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Northern Jacana: Found from south Texas to Panama. Found in marshes, flooded fields, and slow-moving waters.
BreedingSolitary nester, Polyandrous
Population
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight2.8 Ounces