BirdUp · Species
Pheasant-tailed Jacana
Hydrophasianus chirurgus(Scopoli, 1786)
- Order
- CHARADRIIFORMES
- Family
- Jacanidae
- Genus
- Hydrophasianus
At a glance
The Pheasant-tailed Jacana, native to Australia.
- Origin
- Native
01 · Identification
How to tell it apart
The pheasant-tailed jacana is a jacana in the monotypic genus Hydrophasianus. Like all other jacanas, they have elongated toes and nails that enable them to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, their preferred habitat. They may also swim or wade in water reaching their body while foraging mainly for invertebrate prey. They are found in tropical Asia from Yemen in the west to the Philippines in the east and move seasonally in parts of their range. They are the only jacanas that migrate long distances and have different non-breeding and breeding plumages. The pheasant-tailed jacana forages by swimming or by walking on aquatic vegetation. Females are larger than males and are polyandrous, laying several clutches that are raised by different males in their harem.
Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
The BirdUp app
Log your next Pheasant-tailed Jacana in the field
A pocket field journal for 850+ Australian birds. Offline-first, smart ID, and a lifelist that travels with you.