Lesser jacana

Microparra capensis

Photo by Paul Jones (Flickr)

Common name:
lesser jacana (en); jacana-pequena (pt); jacana nain (fr); jacana chica (es); zwergblatthühnchen (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Charadriiformes
Family Jacanidae

Range:
This species is patchily distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, from Mali and Côte d'Ivoire east to South Sudan and Ethiopia, through Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and into southern Angola, northern Namibia, northern Botswana, Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa.

Size:
These birds are 15-16 cm long and weigh about 40 g.

Habitat:
The lesser jacana is found in areas of shallow water around the edges of of permanent and seasonally flooded wetlands, including lakes, dams, flood plains, swampy river edges, coastal lagoons, grassy swamps and sometimes ponds. They favour areas of sparse sedge, aquatic grasses and stands of floating vegetation such as water-lilies.

Diet:
They feed mainly on insects, but also take small pieces of aquatic vegetation.

Breeding:
The lesser jacana breeds during the local wet season. They are monogamous and nest in solitary pairs, with both sexes helping build the nest, a tiny floating stack of plant stems, typically placed alongside a grass or sedge tuft in shallow water. there the female lays 2-5 eggs which are incubated by both sexes for about 21 days. The chicks can leave the nest soon after hatching, but remain within 2 m of the nest in the first 3 days and wander increasingly far until they begin to fly, about 32 days after hatching. They become fully independent about 2 months after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding rang, but its small size and secretive habits contribute to uncertainties regarding their precise distribution and abundance. The population trend is also difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes.

Pheasant-tailed jacana

Hydrophasianus chirurgus

Common name:

pheasant-tailed jacana (en); jacana-rabilonga (pt); jacana à longue queue (fr); jacana colilarga(es); fasanblatthühnchen (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Charadriiformes

Family Jacanidae

Range:

The pheasant-tailed jacana is found in southern and south-eastern Asia, including portions of Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Java, and the Philippines.

Size:

These birds are 28-31 cm long, but the during the breeding season the long tails lengthen their total size to 45-50 cm. They weigh 120-150 g.

Habitat:

The pheasant-tailed jacana inhabits marshes, ponds, and lakes with patches of floating vegetation.

Diet:

They pick insects and other invertebrates from the floating vegetation or the water's surface.

Breeding:

Pheasant-tailed jacanas are polyandrous, with females having up to 4 mates at one time. They breed in March-September, with each male building a nest made of floating vegetation. The female lays 3-4 olive to dark-green eggs in each nest and each male is responsible for incubating and rearing the young. The male incubates the eggs for 24-26 days and the chicks are able to walk, swim and forage within hours of hatching. The male protects and broods the chicks for 6-7 weeks before they become fully independent.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and a global population of 100.000 individuals. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction and degradation, but the pheasant-tailed jacana is not considered threatened at present.