Lesser jacana

Taxonomy

The lesser jacana is one of eight species in the family Jacanidae. It is monotypic within the genus Microparra meaning it does not have any sub-species. Within the family Jacanidae, the lesser jacana is most closely related to the comb-crested jacana of Australia – these two species are considered to be of the same clade. The family Jacanidae is divided into two clades: 1) the comb-crested, lesser jacana, bronze-winged jacana, african jacana, and 2) pheasant-tailed jacana, wattled jacana, northern jacana.

Habitat and Distribution

The lesser jacana can be found in wetland habitats in Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. They occupy the shorelines of permanent and seasonally flooded wetlands in Africa. They hang out in areas that are partially grown with sedge and grass. As new pools are filled with rainfall, lesser jacanas may move into these newly flooded habitats. They favor areas where sedge and grass cover is sparse, but more abundant as compared to water lilies. They use aquatic vegetation for cover and may be inconspicuous as a result.

Lesser jacanas range overlaps with that of the African Jacana, and these species often coexist.

Behaviour

Diet

As the lesser jacana trots across lily pads or climbs grass stems, it is able to forage insects from emergent vegetation. It has been observed to peck insects off surrounding vegetation, to search for insects by lifting submerged stems out of the water with its bill, and to swim for food at the water's surface.

Reproduction

Lesser jacanas are unique in their mating. All other jacanas in the Jacanidae family display a polyandrous mating strategy. Sex roles are reversed in these other jacana species, as males perform parental care and females breed with multiple species. Females are resultantly slightly larger than males in these other jacanas. Observations of the lesser jacana show that they do not follow this mating strategy. Lesser jacanas practice biparental care where both parents cooperate in caring for their young. Unlike other jacana species where the male takes on the role of incubating the chicks by himself, the male and female of the lesser jacana are both involved in nest-building and incubate the eggs equally. The lesser jacana shows minimal sexual dimorphism as a result. They have been observed to be monogamous. To reproduce, the male mounts the females back and copulation averages 7 seconds – shorter than other jacana species due to lower levels of sperm competition.

The lesser jacana lays two or three tan-colored eggs with black markings in a floating nest. Their eggs are identical in appearance to eggs of the African Jacana, but are smaller. Eggs are incubated for 19–21 days. To incubate, males and females hold their eggs against their breast with the underside of their wing. Once hatched, parents brood their young under their wing. When chicks face an apparent danger, the parent collects its chick and carries it under its wing.

Vocalizations

Lesser jacanas have been observed to make five distinct vocalizations. The first of these is a distress call that the lesser jacana will produce when its chicks are approached, a chatter that sounds like "hwi hwi hwi …." The most common vocalization is a melodic, low-pitch "woot" produced by both sexes. It has also been observed vocalizing a peeving "see sree shrrr," a soft "tchr tchr tchr," and repeating a "ti" or "hli" sound. If a lesser jacana was observed to call, its mate was seen to make this same call in response or synchronously. Prior to copulation, males have been observed to vocalize a hoot-like call to lure females toward him.