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Jacana

(Redirected from Jacanidae)
Jacanas
Comb-crested Jacana
Comb-crested Jacana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Charadriiformes
Family:Jacanidae
Genera

Microparra
Actophilornis
Irediparra
Hydrophasianus
Metopidius
Jacana

The Jacanas are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone.

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.

The females are larger than the males; the latter, as in some other wader families like the phalaropes take responsibility for incubation, and some species (notably the Northern Jacana) are polyandrous. However, adults of both sexes look identical, as with most shorebirds.

Food is insects and other invertebrates picked from the floating vegetation or the water’s surface.

Most species are sedentary, but Pheasant-tailed Jacana migrates from the north of its range into peninsular India and southeast Asia.


The eight species are:



07-14-2008 23:18:10
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