African Jacana (Actophilornis africanus)

From it's common name the African Jacana (Actophilornis africana) you can tell that it is a jacana.

The jacana group of birds are all waders and come from the family Jacanidae

You can recognise them by their very large feet and claws that allow them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat.

They are about 30cm long with the females usually a little larger than the males. Theit underparts are a chestnut colour and they have black wing tips. The rear of their neck, as well as a stipe on their eyes is also black.

The bill of the Jacana is blue and looks a little like a coots bill, pointing slightly upwards.

Jacanas' are found worldwide within the tropical zone.

What really makes the African Jacana (Actophilornis africanus) an interesting bird is that it is only the male who incubates and raises the chicks, the mother has nothing to do with it after mating, in fact she what we call polyandrous meaning that she often mates with more than one male and up to four males in a season.

It is also left to the males to build the nest which he makes from leaves and other plant material and uses floating vegetation as the foundations!

The female will then lay around four eggs which are speckled glossy brown. I have also heard that the male will protect the chicks by placing them under his wings, but unfortunately have never seen this.

The African Jacana mainly feeds on insects and other invertebrates that it finds on the waters surface or near the waters edge.

When you see them, they will often be wondering around on top of floating vegetation or near the waters edge looking for food.

If you are going on an African Safari, or just going on a holiday, I would really recommend that you get yourself a good bird book on the area of Africa that you are visiting.

Africa as a continent has a massive amount and variety of bird-life and having a good bird book can really make the enjoyment of watching birds that much greater.

I have listed a few good bird books that I recommend, most are for Southern Africa, mainly because I either have them or have read them and so can recommend them with confidence.

For more on books for safaris, including bird books, why not check out my page on African Travel & Wildlife Books