biomedicalephemera: Jacana jacana - The Wattled Jacana
Check out those feet! The jacanas are known in some parts of Mexico as “Jesus birds”, and for good reason. They have anisodactyl feet, but not like your standard wading bird. Living among the lilies and dense plants of tropical marshlands, jacanas look as if they’re walking along the top of the water. The birds long toes spread their weight over many leaves, and they’re light enough that they don’t sink.
Jacanas also display another attribute that’s not too common in vertebrates: polyandry. Females are larger and stronger than males, and socially, they’re very much so dominant. They’re the ones who will squabble for habitat, defend their “harem”, and who will decide which males to breed with. While the females are still the ones who lay the eggs, the males tend the nest and raise the young.
Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, planches enluminees. 1770-1786.
