Jacana birds: Walking on water, breaking the rules

Is this an 8-legged bird? Not quite! Find out more about the fascinating jacana bird below or watch this video. Image via JMx Images/ Shutterstock.

Meet the jacana: a bird that defies much of what you thought you knew about nature. With its precise and elegant steps, it appears to walk on water, moving across water lilies and floating leaves as if it were gliding through the air.

But the amazement doesn’t end with its physical ability. The jacana has parenting and survival behaviors that seem pulled from an upside-down world.

Jacana males are devoted dads

One of the traits that makes the jacana a biological rarity is its reproductive system. In most jacana species, the common male and female roles of the animal kingdom are reversed; females dominate the territory and mate with multiple males, while the males take on the most delicate and risky part of raising the young.

The male jacana incubates the eggs and, once the chicks hatch, protects them with extraordinary dedication. At the first sign of danger, he can hide the chicks under his wings and carry them while fleeing, leaving only tiny trembling feet visible. And that’s why the jacana sometimes appears to have many more than two legs!

If there were nobel prizes for birds, jacana males would be in the running for best dads! Image via JMx Images/ Shutterstock.

A single female can control up to three or four males, each caring for his own nest of eggs — an extreme example of sexual role reversal in birds. This system, known as polyandry, is exceptional among birds and makes the jacana a key example for studying how ecology can shape radically different behaviors from the norm.

However, not all jacanas follow this pattern exactly. The lesser jacana (Microparra capensis) is a lesser-known monogamous species, in which both males and females actively participate in raising the chicks, building the nest together, incubating the eggs and caring for the young. Its reproductive strategy breaks the group norm and reminds us that even within such a specialized family, notable exceptions exist.

Male jacanas take care of their chicks. When in danger, the males carry them under their feathers, making the dad look like it has many legs! Image via Mainakhalder_01/ Shutterstock.

The bird that walks on water

Known in many places as “the bird that walks on water,” the jacana seems to defy the laws of physics thanks to its ability to move precisely across floating vegetation. This skill is no accident. It’s the result of extreme adaptation; its long legs and disproportionately long toes act as natural platforms, distributing its weight across water lilies and other aquatic plants without sinking.

Its long toes have pads that increase friction, preventing slips even on wet or unstable leaves. The real challenge is the instability of this terrain. The jacana moves across leaves that slide with the current or wind, forcing it to adjust with every step as the “ground” beneath it shifts.

Maintaining this delicate balance, the jacana catches insects, small crustaceans and other invertebrates directly from the water in areas that other birds cannot access without slipping or sinking. Combining sharp vision with quick reflexes, it’s sometimes even able to catch small fish.

Jacana birds have incredibly long toes that allow them to walk and jump effortlessly across floating vegetation. This is a young lesser jacana. Image via Derek Keats/ Pexels.

Exploring the floating kingdom of the jacana

Currently, eight species of jacana are recognized, all belonging to the family Jacanidae. These birds are distributed across tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania, always near lakes, lagoons, swamps and wetlands rich in floating vegetation.

Jacanas are omnivorous and opportunistic. They feed mainly on insects, spiders, mollusks and small crustaceans, but can also consume seeds and plant matter. Their foraging is meticulous. They move slowly over aquatic vegetation, inspecting every leaf and edge, and take advantage of any movement on the surface.

In addition to walking, they can leap from leaf to leaf with great agility. They can also swim short distances between patches of vegetation and use floating leaves as platforms to rest or watch their surroundings. Their lives unfold on a constantly changing mosaic of living surfaces, where every foothold counts.

These birds live near lakes, lagoons, swamps and wetlands. They feed on insects, spiders, mollusks, small crustaceans, fish, seeds and plant matter. Image via David Clode/ Unsplash.

Curiosities that make the jacana bird unique

Beyond its parenting and ability to walk on water, the jacana has other surprising traits that make it truly extraordinary. It is extremely territorial. Despite its small size, it does not hesitate to confront much larger birds that threaten its space, diving from the air, displaying bright colors or chasing intruders to protect its territory. In wetlands, this aggressiveness is a direct way to secure food and space for its chicks, a remarkable example of courage and strategy in such a lightweight bird.

Its compact body, combined with relatively large wings and plumage that blends browns, blacks and whites with metallic sheens, gives it an exotic appearance, enhanced in many species by brightly colored frontal shields. It measures between 7.5 and 12 inches (19 and 30 cm) in length, with a wingspan of up to 24 inches (60 cm), and rarely exceeds 5.6 ounces (160 grams) in weight — proportions perfectly suited to life on unstable surfaces.

Some jacanas show subtle changes in their plumage and frontal shield depending on age, season or reproductive status. These variations function as visual signals indicating hierarchy, reproductive availability or aggression levels. During mating season, the metallic sheen intensifies, revealing dynamics that remain discreet the rest of the year.

They are very light, a clear advantage for a life on unstable surfaces. But they are also territorial. Despite their small body size, they can dive from the air to protect their chicks and territory. Image via Sanjeev Kumar Maurya/ Pexels.

A beauty that depends on water

Most jacana species are considered of “least concern.” However, this apparent stability is misleading. The survival of the jacana depends directly on the health of wetlands, one of the planet’s most threatened ecosystems.

Pollution, swamp drainage and agricultural and urban expansion are growing risks. Protecting the jacana means protecting the water, vegetation and ecological balance of the wetlands it relies on.

Jacanas are indicators of wetland health; their presence reflects balanced aquatic ecosystems and their absence can signal pollution or loss of floating vegetation.

By caring for these spaces, we not only save the jacana, but also preserve a world where life is sustained delicately and every water lily leaf is a stage for quiet wonders.

Jacana birds are not endangered, but their ecosystem is. Wetlands face pollution and drainage risks. Protecting these birds means protecting the delicate balance of water, vegetation and life they depend on. Image via Jyotirmoy Golder/ Shutterstock.

Bottom line: Jacana birds glide effortlessly across wetlands, defying both physics and nature’s common gender roles.

Read more: Kiwi: The bird that can’t fly and walks at night

Read more: Secretary birds are expert snake killers

The post Jacana birds: Walking on water, breaking the rules first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/1jxCdQw

Is this an 8-legged bird? Not quite! Find out more about the fascinating jacana bird below or watch this video. Image via JMx Images/ Shutterstock.

Meet the jacana: a bird that defies much of what you thought you knew about nature. With its precise and elegant steps, it appears to walk on water, moving across water lilies and floating leaves as if it were gliding through the air.

But the amazement doesn’t end with its physical ability. The jacana has parenting and survival behaviors that seem pulled from an upside-down world.

Jacana males are devoted dads

One of the traits that makes the jacana a biological rarity is its reproductive system. In most jacana species, the common male and female roles of the animal kingdom are reversed; females dominate the territory and mate with multiple males, while the males take on the most delicate and risky part of raising the young.

The male jacana incubates the eggs and, once the chicks hatch, protects them with extraordinary dedication. At the first sign of danger, he can hide the chicks under his wings and carry them while fleeing, leaving only tiny trembling feet visible. And that’s why the jacana sometimes appears to have many more than two legs!

If there were nobel prizes for birds, jacana males would be in the running for best dads! Image via JMx Images/ Shutterstock.

A single female can control up to three or four males, each caring for his own nest of eggs — an extreme example of sexual role reversal in birds. This system, known as polyandry, is exceptional among birds and makes the jacana a key example for studying how ecology can shape radically different behaviors from the norm.

However, not all jacanas follow this pattern exactly. The lesser jacana (Microparra capensis) is a lesser-known monogamous species, in which both males and females actively participate in raising the chicks, building the nest together, incubating the eggs and caring for the young. Its reproductive strategy breaks the group norm and reminds us that even within such a specialized family, notable exceptions exist.

Male jacanas take care of their chicks. When in danger, the males carry them under their feathers, making the dad look like it has many legs! Image via Mainakhalder_01/ Shutterstock.

The bird that walks on water

Known in many places as “the bird that walks on water,” the jacana seems to defy the laws of physics thanks to its ability to move precisely across floating vegetation. This skill is no accident. It’s the result of extreme adaptation; its long legs and disproportionately long toes act as natural platforms, distributing its weight across water lilies and other aquatic plants without sinking.

Its long toes have pads that increase friction, preventing slips even on wet or unstable leaves. The real challenge is the instability of this terrain. The jacana moves across leaves that slide with the current or wind, forcing it to adjust with every step as the “ground” beneath it shifts.

Maintaining this delicate balance, the jacana catches insects, small crustaceans and other invertebrates directly from the water in areas that other birds cannot access without slipping or sinking. Combining sharp vision with quick reflexes, it’s sometimes even able to catch small fish.

Jacana birds have incredibly long toes that allow them to walk and jump effortlessly across floating vegetation. This is a young lesser jacana. Image via Derek Keats/ Pexels.

Exploring the floating kingdom of the jacana

Currently, eight species of jacana are recognized, all belonging to the family Jacanidae. These birds are distributed across tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania, always near lakes, lagoons, swamps and wetlands rich in floating vegetation.

Jacanas are omnivorous and opportunistic. They feed mainly on insects, spiders, mollusks and small crustaceans, but can also consume seeds and plant matter. Their foraging is meticulous. They move slowly over aquatic vegetation, inspecting every leaf and edge, and take advantage of any movement on the surface.

In addition to walking, they can leap from leaf to leaf with great agility. They can also swim short distances between patches of vegetation and use floating leaves as platforms to rest or watch their surroundings. Their lives unfold on a constantly changing mosaic of living surfaces, where every foothold counts.

These birds live near lakes, lagoons, swamps and wetlands. They feed on insects, spiders, mollusks, small crustaceans, fish, seeds and plant matter. Image via David Clode/ Unsplash.

Curiosities that make the jacana bird unique

Beyond its parenting and ability to walk on water, the jacana has other surprising traits that make it truly extraordinary. It is extremely territorial. Despite its small size, it does not hesitate to confront much larger birds that threaten its space, diving from the air, displaying bright colors or chasing intruders to protect its territory. In wetlands, this aggressiveness is a direct way to secure food and space for its chicks, a remarkable example of courage and strategy in such a lightweight bird.

Its compact body, combined with relatively large wings and plumage that blends browns, blacks and whites with metallic sheens, gives it an exotic appearance, enhanced in many species by brightly colored frontal shields. It measures between 7.5 and 12 inches (19 and 30 cm) in length, with a wingspan of up to 24 inches (60 cm), and rarely exceeds 5.6 ounces (160 grams) in weight — proportions perfectly suited to life on unstable surfaces.

Some jacanas show subtle changes in their plumage and frontal shield depending on age, season or reproductive status. These variations function as visual signals indicating hierarchy, reproductive availability or aggression levels. During mating season, the metallic sheen intensifies, revealing dynamics that remain discreet the rest of the year.

They are very light, a clear advantage for a life on unstable surfaces. But they are also territorial. Despite their small body size, they can dive from the air to protect their chicks and territory. Image via Sanjeev Kumar Maurya/ Pexels.

A beauty that depends on water

Most jacana species are considered of “least concern.” However, this apparent stability is misleading. The survival of the jacana depends directly on the health of wetlands, one of the planet’s most threatened ecosystems.

Pollution, swamp drainage and agricultural and urban expansion are growing risks. Protecting the jacana means protecting the water, vegetation and ecological balance of the wetlands it relies on.

Jacanas are indicators of wetland health; their presence reflects balanced aquatic ecosystems and their absence can signal pollution or loss of floating vegetation.

By caring for these spaces, we not only save the jacana, but also preserve a world where life is sustained delicately and every water lily leaf is a stage for quiet wonders.

Jacana birds are not endangered, but their ecosystem is. Wetlands face pollution and drainage risks. Protecting these birds means protecting the delicate balance of water, vegetation and life they depend on. Image via Jyotirmoy Golder/ Shutterstock.

Bottom line: Jacana birds glide effortlessly across wetlands, defying both physics and nature’s common gender roles.

Read more: Kiwi: The bird that can’t fly and walks at night

Read more: Secretary birds are expert snake killers

The post Jacana birds: Walking on water, breaking the rules first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/1jxCdQw