African Jacana

Facts

IUCN LEAST CONCERN (LC)

Facts about this animal

23-31 cm. The male averages c.137 g, female 261 g.The most conspicuous characteristic of these birds are their huge, grey feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation, especially lily pads. They are also very good swimmers and divers. The African jacana has a chestnut body, and its neck and head are white in front and black in back, with a golden yellow breast. The African Jacana has a bright blue frontal shield, which is a bare, fleshy area that extends from the bill to as far as the top of the head. The sexes look alike, but the female is a bit larger than the male.

African jacanas moult all their flight-feathers simultaneously and are flightless during this period.

The African jacana is not migratory, but extremely nomadic, often in connection with changing waterlevels; in wet years, birds may show up on pans, from which the species has been absent for several years.

The African jacana mainly feeds on insects and worms, but also other arthropods, including spiders and crustaceans, and molluscs. Seeds are sometimes taken. Foraging similar to the Wattled jacana, though the species may also catch flies and other flying insects.

Did you know?
African Jacana have a polyandrous mating system, in which females can have multiple male partners. After mating and egg laying, the female leaves the nest site and may look for another mate while the male incubates and raises the young.

Factsheet
Class	AVES
Order	CHARADRIIFORMES
Suborder	CHARADRII
Family	JACANIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Actophilornis africanus
Name (English)	African Jacana
Name (French)	Jacana à poitrine dorée
Name (German)	Afrikanisches Blätterhühnchen
Name (Spanish)	Jacana africana
Local names	Afrikaans: Langtoon
CITES Status	Not listed
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Chris Eason

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Africa, south of the Sahara desert: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad Congo, Congo Dem., Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Habitat	Permanent and seasonally flooded shallow frehwater wetlands, especially swamps and backwaters of slow-flowing rivers. Restricted to floating vegetation especially water-lilies, and floating water-emergent vegetation, which provides more cover but does not appear to reduce predation. Seeks shelter in taller emergent vegetation near shore, but does not use this for nesting in.
Wild population	Total regarded as a minimum by Wetlands International (2006) (Red List IUCN 2011)
Zoo population	45 reported to ISIS (2007)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 11G of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
Su Neko

Why do zoos keep this animal

This species is not threatened in the wild. Zoos keep it primarily for educational purposes because of its adaptation to floating vegetation and its interesting reproductive behaviour, and as an ambassador species for wetland conservation. Provided there is adequate space, it is a suitable species for mixed walk-thru exhibits.

How this animal should be kept

Jacanas should be housed at an ambient temperature between 25° and 30° C, during daytime and at 20° C. during night time. Relative humidity should be high (between 80 and 100%). Water-temperature should be around 25º C.

Criteria for minimum enclosure size are very difficult to determine, but it can be assumed that the larger the surface of the water in combination with sufficient floating vegetation, the more polyandrous, and the more successful in breeding, the species will be. In case the water-surface is relatively small – up to 20 m² - the species will be limited to monogamous breeding.

The pool should be at least 0.5 m deep and should be covered with floating vegetation, such Watersalad (Pistia strateoides), waterlilies (Nymphaea spp.), Ludwigia, Salvinia, Potamogeton and Polygonum. Other vegetation may be used for escape but not for breeding (like bulrushes, reeds, papyrus and robust stands of water hyacinth).

Jacanas can be kept in mixed exhibits together with pygmy geese (Nettapus) whistling ducks (Dendrocygna and other compatible bird species. It is recommended not to house any species of larger predator-fish in the pool as the may prey on chicks.