Northern Jacana
Jacana spinosa
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
- FamilyJacanidae (Jacanas)
- GenusJacana (New World Jacanas)
- SpeciesJacana spinosa (Northern Jacana)
The northern jacana or northern jaçana (Jacana spinosa) is a wader which is known as a resident breeder from coastal Mexico to western Panama, and on Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola in the Caribbean. It is sometimes known to breed in Texas, United States, and has also been recorded on several occasions as a vagrant in Arizona. The jacanas are a group of wetland birds, which are identifiable by their huge feet and claws, which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat. In Jamaica, this bird is also known as the 'Jesus bird', as it appears to walk on water. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve
Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularius
Royal Tern
Thalasseus maximus
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpres
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Hudsonian Whimbrel
Numenius hudsonicus
Willet
Tringa semipalmata
Semipalmated Plover
Charadrius semipalmatus
Laughing Gull
Leucophaeus atricilla
Wandering Tattler
Tringa incana
Black Tern
Chlidonias niger
American Oystercatcher
Haematopus palliatus
Least Sandpiper
Calidris minutilla
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Northern Jacana at Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there