A striking wetland bird that looks like it was designed specifically for life on floating leaves. It has a deep chestnut-brown body, a crisp white face and neck, and a dark cap that runs over the top of the head and down the back of the neck like a hood. Its bill is pale with a bluish or yellowish tinge, and above the bill sits a small shield of bare skin on the forehead, a classic jacana feature. What really steals the show, though, are its legs and toes: they’re long, thin, and unbelievably spidery, spreading its weight so well that the bird can walk across lily pads and floating vegetation without sinking.

This bird is found only in Madagascar, where it lives on freshwater lakes, marshes, ponds, rice paddies, and slow channels with lots of floating plants. It prefers places with broad water lilies or other thick mats of vegetation, because these “floating gardens” are its hunting grounds, walkways, and nesting platforms all in one. Madagascar jacanas feed mainly on insects and other small creatures they pick from the surface of leaves or shallow water—things like beetles, bugs, small snails, and larvae. They move with a stop–start rhythm: a few careful steps, a quick peck, then another pause as they scan for movement. When alarmed, they can suddenly burst into flight with surprisingly strong wingbeats, but they would much rather sneak away through the vegetation.

One of the most interesting things about the Madagascar jacana is its family life, which flips the usual bird script. Jacanas do almost the opposite. Females are larger, more strongly built, and can be more aggressive, defending territories that include several males. The males take on much of the hard work: they build the nest—a frail little raft of plant bits anchored to floating leaves—incubate the eggs, and then look after the chicks.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Madagascar

975-2,064

Official estimate

EN

2020