Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A bird of the genus Parra or Jacana, as P. jacana or J. spinosa; the book-name of any bird of the family Parridæ or Jacanidæ.
  • noun There are several genera and species, of both the old and the new world. These remarkable birds resemble plovers and rails, but are most nearly related to the former. In the typical American forms the tail is short, and the legs and toes are long, with enormous straight claws which enable the birds to run easily over the floating leaves of aquatic plants. There is a horny spur on the bend of the wing, and a naked frontal leaf and wattles at the base of the bill. Parra gymnostoma is the Mexican jacana, which is also found in the United States. The pheasant-tailed jacana of India, Hydrophasianus chirurgus, has no frontal or rictal lobes, and has a very long tail like a pheasant. The Indo-African jacanas belong to the genus Metopodius; that of the East Indies is Hydralector cristatus.
  • noun [capitalized] [NL.] A genus of jacanas, the same as Parra, lately made the name-giving genus of Jacanidæ. Brisson, 1760. Also written Iacana.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any of several wading birds belonging to the genus Jacana and several allied genera, all of which have spurs on the wings. They are able to run about over floating water weeds by means of their very long, spreading toes. Called also surgeon bird.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A group of wading birds in the family Jacanidae, usually having long toes and claws and found throughout the world.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Brazilian Portuguese jaçanã, from Tupian jasaná.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word jacana.

Examples

  • There are several species of "jacana" in South America, and also some species in the tropical countries of the East.

    Popular Adventure Tales Mayne Reid 1850

  • There are several species of "jacana" in South America, and also some species in the tropical countries of the East.

    The Forest Exiles The Perils of a Peruvian Family in the Wilds of the Amazon Mayne Reid 1850

  • Rare and endangered species include the birds scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber), and wattled jacana (Jacana jacana), the mammals tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) and manatee Trichechus manatus, and several marine turtles, for whom it is a breeding area.

    Maranhao mangroves 2007

  • Embassy, 012 -3443910, 083 -4592001 margriet. leemhuis@minbuza.nl, or Jacana media: 0111 - 648 1157, www. jacana.co.za

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2005

  • Going back to my chair, I found that neither jacana, nor gallinules, nor herons had been disturbed by my shot.

    Edge of the Jungle William Beebe 1919

  • As I looked, a small crocodile rose, splashed, and sank, sending terror among the gallinules, but arousing the spur-wing jacana to a high pitch of anger.

    Edge of the Jungle William Beebe 1919

  • Out at the center a fussy jacana was feeding with her two spindly-legged babies, while, still nearer, three scarlet-helmeted gallinules lumbered about, now and then tipping over a silvery and black infant which seemed puzzled as to which it should call parent.

    Edge of the Jungle William Beebe 1919

  • The jacana invariably lays four eggs, and the gallinule, at this latitude, six or eight, yet only a fraction of the young had survived even to this tender age.

    Edge of the Jungle William Beebe 1919

  • The eggs of the bronze-winged jacana have a rich brownish-bronze background, on which black lines are scribbled in inextricable confusion, so that the egg looks as though Arabic texts had been scrawled over it.

    A Bird Calendar for Northern India Douglas Dewar 1916

  • Two species of jacana occur in India: the bronze-winged (_Motopus indicus_) and the pheasant-tailed jacana or the water-pheasant

    A Bird Calendar for Northern India Douglas Dewar 1916

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.