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Comb-crested Jacana (Metopidius [Irediparra] gallinacea) Alternate name(s): "Jesusbird", "Christbird", "Lotusbird", "Comb-crested Parra", "Lily-trotter" Size: 20-22 cm (male), 24-27 cm (female); wingspan 39-46 cm (both sexes) Body mass: 68-84 g (male), 120-150 g (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: ca. 0.40-0.70 (male), 0.75-1.25 (female)

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Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Comb-crested Jacanas are small wetland birds with enormous feet. Their most prominent feature is the orange- to pink-coloured frontal shield. Throat, cheeks and the front of the neck are white, bordered by yellow to orange feathers. The yellow around the eyes is dissected by a black eye stripe. Comb-crested Jacanas have a broad black chest band, while the belly and vent are white again. The upperparts (cap, nape of the neck uppertail) are black, while the upperwings are dark-brown. The bill is yellow with a black tip, legs and feet are greyish olive-green. Their toes are so long that the feet can carry the birds' weight on a floating lily pad. The only difference between the sexes is that males are much smaller than females. Juvenile birds do not have a frontal shield yet and their plumage has less contrast than that of adults. Twitcher's tip When observing birds with one's eyes near water level, i.e. when not seeing the leaves just under the water's surface, one can easily understand how the Comb-crested Jacana came by its nickname as "Jesusbird".

Taxonomy, classification See Comb-crested Jacana at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Comb-crested Jacana is available HERE . Comb-crested Jacanas populate some islands in eastern Indonesia, New Guinea and parts of Australia. In Australia, Comb-crested Jacanas, race "novaehollandiae", are only found in the tropical North of the continent, including inland billabongs, and along the East coast and eastern hill ranges of QLD and along a narrow coastal strip of northern NSW. Comb-crested Jacanas live mostly around coastal or near-coastal freshwater, such as e.g. billabongs, lakes or swamps. Where to look? How to find this species? If, in tropical wetlands, you come across a bird walking on lilypads, with a "red dot" on top, it is going to be a Comb-crested Jacana.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "novaehollandiae" A Comb-crested Jacana, race "novaehollandiae", was first seen by us on a billabong in the NT in October 1997. Comb-crested Jacanas, race "novaehollandiae", were also spotted by us in the wetlands of Capricorn Resort, Yeppoon, in July 2009. Special access to the wetlands kindly granted by the owners of Capricorn Resort is most gratefully acknowledged. C. Hayne reports spotting a Comb-crested Jacana, race "novaehollandiae", in wetlands near Moree, NSW, including Whittaker's Lagoon, all of which are outside the nominal range of the species. B. Hensen reports spotting Comb-crested Jacanas, race "novaehollandiae", at Fogg Dam NR, NT, in August 2013. We spotted them at the same location in August 2014 and M. Eaton found the species there in July 2020. M. Mearns reports spotting Comb-crested Jacanas, race "novaehollandiae", at Gordonbrook Dam, near Kingaroy, QLD, in December 2015. M. Eaton reports finding Comb-crested Jacanas, race "novaehollandiae", regularly in various wetlands in south-eastern QLD. P. Brown found Comb-crested Jacanas, race "novaehollandiae", at McMinns Lagoon, 30 km South of Darwin, NT, in September 2018, and others at the Palmerston Golf Club, Palmerston, NT, in December 2019.

Photos

Race "novaehollandiae"

ADULT

PAIR

Lateral view of a pair of Comb-crested Jacanas
Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
When seeing one bird on its own, it is impossible in the field to tell the sexes of Comb-crested Jacanas apart. Only when a pair is seen together, one can discern that one bird, the female (here seen in front), is larger than its partner, the male.
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Palmerston Golf Course, Palmerston, NT, December 2019]

Pair of Comb-crested Jacanas (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Lytton, QLD, August 2017]

Sex unknown

Near-frontal view of a Comb-crested Jacana (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, August 2013]

Near-lateral view of a Comb-crested Jacana
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, August 2014]

Close-up near-lateral view of a Comb-crested Jacana (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Cattana Wetlands, Cairns, QLD, November 2020]

Lateral view of a Comb-crested Jacana (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, July 2013]

Lateral view of a Comb-crested Jacana (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, August 2017]

Lateral view of a resting Comb-crested Jacana (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Lytton, QLD, August 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Comb-crested Jacana (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Fogg Dam CR, NT, July 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a Comb-crested Jacana on a lily pad (click on photo to see the entire pad)
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, August 2014]

Lateral view of a Comb-crested Jacana in flight (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)

Dorsal view of a Comb-crested Jacana just after take-off (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[McMinns Lagoon, near Darwin, NT, September 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up frontal view of a juvenile Comb-crested Jacana (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Lytton, QLD, August 2018]

Lateral view of a juvenile Comb-crested Jacana (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, July 2013]

Comb-crested Jacana, with a juvenile, left (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, July 2013]

Lateral view of a juvenile Comb-crested Jacana (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Lytton, QLD, August 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Comb-crested Jacana (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Palmerston Golf Course, Palmerston, NT, December 2019]

Frontal view of a Comb-crested Jacana chick (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kakadu NP, NT, July 2020]

Lateral view of a Comb-crested Jacana with a chick (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kakadu NP, NT, July 2020]

Lateral view of 4 Comb-crested Jacana chicks (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Cattana Wetlands, Cairns, QLD, April 2020]

Comb-crested Jacana with two young chicks (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Road Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, September 2017]

Comb-crested Jacana with a young chick (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Road Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, September 2017]

Comb-crested Jacana chick walking on lily pads (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Road Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, September 2017]

Close-up view of a Comb-crested Jacana chick going after a fly (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Road Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, September 2017]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Dispersive

Elementary unit: Pair

NB: In this context, "pair" is not to be taken literally because Comb-crested Jacanas are polyandrous, i.e., a female will mate with more than one male partner.

Comb-crested Jacana with two young chicks; note that the colour pigment of the bird's fleshy comb is orange-yellow; the usual pinkish-red comes from circulating blood - when a Comb-crested Jacana becomes excited, blood flow to the crest is restricted and its colour consequently changes from pinkish-red to orange-yellow (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Road Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, September 2017]

Q: How does a Comb-crested Jacana keep itself in balance with the feet clearly behind its body? (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kakadu NP, NT, July 2020]

A: With such enormous feet! (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kakadu NP, NT, July 2020]

Food, Diet

Near-frontal view of a Comb-crested Jacana picking up part of an aquatic plant (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Cattana Wetlands, Cairns, QLD, April 2020]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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