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Northern Jacana
Daniel Pineda Vera, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist

Shorebirds, gulls & terns

Northern Jacana

Jacana spinosa (Linnaeus, 1758)

LC Least Concern

Names

EnglishNorthern Jacana
DutchJacana
SpanishJacana norteña
Chinese美洲水雉
Scientific nameJacana spinosa (Linnaeus, 1758)

About this species

The northern jacana or northern jaçana (Jacana spinosa) is a wader which is known as a resident breeder from coastal Mexico to western Panama, and on Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola in the Caribbean. It is sometimes known to breed in Texas, United States, and has also been recorded on several occasions as a vagrant in Arizona. The jacanas are a group of wetland birds, which 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. In Jamaica, this bird is also known as the 'Jesus bird', as it appears to walk on water.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyJacanidae
GenusJacana

Related species in Suriname