Bronze-winged jacana facts for kids

The bronze-winged jacana (Metopidius indicus) is a cool bird that lives in wetlands. It's part of the Jacanidae family, known for their super long toes. These special toes help them walk on floating plants like lily pads without sinking!

You can find these birds across South and Southeast Asia. The bronze-winged jacana is the only species in its group, called Metopidius.

Both male and female bronze-winged jacanas look similar, but the females are a bit bigger. What's really interesting is their family life: the females are polyandrous. This means one female mates with several males! During the rainy season, she keeps a group of males. The males then take care of the eggs and young. If danger comes, the male can even carry the tiny chicks to safety under his wings!

Mating pair

About the Bronze-winged Jacana

The bronze-winged jacana was first officially described by an English bird expert, John Latham, in 1790. Later, in 1832, a German zoologist named Johann Georg Wagler gave it the name Metopidius.

The name Metopidius comes from an old Greek word meaning "on the forehead." This refers to the special shield-like part on the bird's head. The second part of its name, indicus, is Latin for "Indian," telling us where it lives.

Like other jacanas, this bird has unique wing bones. These bones are shaped in a way that helps the male jacana hold eggs and even carry young chicks safely under his wings. This special behavior is called "wing-brooding."

What Does It Look Like?

Bronze-winged jacanas are medium-sized birds, about 29 centimeters (11 inches) long. From far away, they look quite dark, but up close you can see their beautiful colors.

Their wings are a shiny bronzy-brown with a green shimmer. Their head, neck, and chest are black, but they have a wide white stripe that goes from above their eye all the way to the back of their neck. Their lower back and tail are a rich chestnut color. The tail is short and reddish-brown with a black tip.

Their bill is greenish-yellow, and the top part has a red base. They also have a reddish-purple shield on their forehead. Their legs are greenish, and their toes are very long. The nail on their back toe is even longer than the toe itself!

Young bronze-winged jacanas look a bit different. They have brown upper parts, a reddish-brown cap on their head, and white undersides. They don't have the fully developed forehead shield yet.

Where Do They Live?

These birds live across the Indian Subcontinent (but not Sri Lanka or western Pakistan) and Southeast Asia. They prefer places that are not too high up.

Bronze-winged jacanas love wetlands, especially those with lots of floating plants like water lilies. They can even live in areas with introduced plants like water hyacinth. They don't usually migrate far, but they might move around a bit if there's a drought or heavy rains.

How Do They Behave?

Bronze-winged jacanas are often seen alone or in pairs. They walk carefully on floating plants, using their long legs and toes to balance. They mostly eat insects and other small creatures they find on the plants or on the water's surface.

When they are alarmed, they make a wheezy seek-seek-seek sound. If they feel threatened, they might even hide by diving underwater!

Family Life

The breeding season for these birds usually starts after the monsoon rains, from June to September in India.

Male jacanas are very protective of their space. They defend their territories from other males by spreading their wings and stretching their necks. Sometimes, these displays can turn into pecking fights.

The nest is a simple platform made of plant stems and leaves, often placed on a mat of floating plants. Sometimes, they even lay their eggs directly on a large lotus leaf! A female usually lays four eggs. The eggs are very cone-shaped, shiny brown, and have irregular black zig-zag patterns.

The most amazing part is that the male jacana does all the work of incubating the eggs and raising the young. The eggs hatch in about 29 days. Sadly, many eggs are lost to predators like other birds and turtles.

When the chicks are very young, the male can shelter them under his wings and carry them to safety if there's danger. The young birds become independent from their father when they are about ten weeks old.

Mating System

Bronze-winged jacanas have a unique mating system where the usual roles are reversed. The female is larger, controls a territory, and mates with several males. She competes with other females to have a group of males who will incubate her eggs.

Each female's territory can include the territories of one to four males. Females mate with different males. The male who receives a clutch of eggs for incubation might even destroy eggs if he's not sure they are his own.

Males make loud "yelling" calls to get the attention of females. Males who are part of larger groups of females tend to yell more. Females seem to use these yells to decide which male is the best to mate with.

Images for kids

• 

  Downy young

• 

  A bare nest on a Victoria amazonica leaf

• 

  Bronze-winged jacana (Metopidius indicus) immature, Chambal River, Uttar Pradesh, India. A composite of 8 images shot over 30 seconds in a sequence showing the bird deal with a grasshopper.