Scientific name:
Jacanidae

Natural spread:
tropics, subtropics

leaf-chickens lives in the tropics and subtropics of the elderly and new world on seas and other quiet waters. With its long toes, they are capable to stride on the swimming leaves of water-plants why them are called also "lotus-birds" or "lily-runners." All types are included good swimmers and divers, however bad planes. In the English language-area, the leaf-chickens are called "Jassanas" broadly. Strictly speaking, this name of Indian origin is applicable only to the American type.

Characteristics As particular common characteristic, the claws and toes including the rear fourth toe are strongly extended disproportionately. The end-coloring of the plumage is with both sexes like, the females become somewhat bigger. The brood-business and the Aufzucht of the boys is incumbent on the males.

Types This in Mexico and west-India, southwards until Argentina living Jassana (Jacana spinosa) reaches a length of 25 cm. Until on the glaring, yellow-green swinging, and the darker neck-head-region is the bird cinnamon-brown. The unbefiederte are showy, sallow until reddish forehead-sign and strongly trained thorns at the wing-bow. In its spread-area, the Jassana shows strong color-differences; so, one finds even completely black copies.

With the both types Wasserfasan (Hydrophasianus chirurgus) and Bronzeflügel-Jassana (Metopidius indicus), the leaf-chickens from India are represented until Java, Sumatra and Malaya and on the Philippines.

In the Australian area and on Borneo, the Australian leaf-chicken (Irediparra gallinacea) lives. In the last years, it became very much rarer in Australia. With exception of its red forehead-sign, it resembles the African leaf-chicken (Actophilornis africana). It is bigger than the Jassana, its body is cocoa-colored, with white Kehl and neck-part, that is clearly put down through a gold-yellow collar. Neck and head-upper side, that is shining-blue forehead-sign only to the incubation, is powerfully black blue-gray. Legs and feet are flesh-colored. This leaf-chicken comes in east, central, and South Africa before.

On Madagascar, the Madagascar-leaf-chicken (Actophilornis albinura) lives as own type. The smallest type of the family, the dwarf-leaf-chicken (Microparra capensis), lives as far as to the cape-region in central-Africa and in Africa's eastern countries. It has a wing-length of only 9 cm and approximately the size of a sparrow. Since it occurs in some life-areas with bigger types overlapping, it is confused easily with their boy. In contrast to the bigger types of the leaf-chickens, it is a good plane.