Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/498

 480 JACANA long, slender, straight, pointed, and four-sided ; the wings are moderate and rounded, with the fourth quill longest ; tail elongated and gradu- ated ; tarsi very short, slender, and nearly cov- ered with feathers ; the toes two hefore and two behind, the inner hind one very small (in tlaramnr (Galbula virldts). some species wanting), and the outer anterior one the longest. About ten species are de- scribed, inhabiting the moist forests, and lead- ing a solitary life ; they perch on naked branch- es, whence they dart in pursuit of insects, in the manner of the bee-eaters ; some species are said to feed on fish and their fry. The nest is a hole in a tree or a river bank, with a small entrance, and the eggs are usually three in number. The green jacamar (0. viridig, Lath.) is about the size of a lark, of a brilliant glossy green, with white chin and rufous abdomen; the paradise jacamar (G. paradieea, Linn.), with the same metallic green color, has a vio- let-brown head, and white throat, front neck, and under wing coverts. In jacamerops the bill is shorter, broader, and more curved, more like that of the bee-eaters. The species are few, inhabiting tropical South America, with habits similar to those of the preceding genus. The great jacamar (/. grandis, Gmel.) is about 11 in. long, of a coppery green above, and be- neath ferruginous. JACANA, a wading bird of the family palame- deidai, and subfamily parrinte, of which the principal genus is parra (Linn.), found in the warmer parts of America, Asia, and Africa. The bill is long, slender, straight at the base, and vaulted at the tip ; the base of the bill has a large, naked, dilated plate, standing up in front of the forehead; wings long, the third quill the longest; tail very short, partly con- cealed by the coverts; tarsi long, naked, and slender, with transverse scales. The most re- markable peculiarity is the great length of the toes, four in number, entirely separated, and all armed with long, straight, and sharp claws ; that of the hind toe in the common species is so acute and long as to obtain for the bird the name of "surgeon;" in some the naked plates about the bill descend toward the neck. These birds frequent marshes, the sides of rivers, and ponds, in pairs or in small flocks; they are shy, when alarmed diving or skulking among the reeds ; by the length of their toes they are enabled to walk upon the floating leaves of water plants, in search of aquatic insects, buds, and seeds ; they are quarrelsome and noisy, striking each other with their spurred wings ; the flight is rapid, straight, and not very elevated ; they wade into the water as far as the knees, but do not swim, as their feet are not webbed ; they are monogamous, the females making a nest among the reeds, and depositing four or five eggs. More than a dozen species are described, of which the best known are the chestnut jaca- na (P. jacana, Linn.), black with a red mantle, with the primaries green, a native of South America ; the Indian jacana (P. Indica, Lath.), blackish with blue and violet reflections, bronzed green mantle, rump and tail sanguine red, anterior quills green, and a white stripe behind the eye; and the African jacana (P. Africana, Gmel.), with wings unarmed, and forehead not carunculated and greenish black. They are about 10 in. long. The genus hydro- phasianus (Wagl.) has very long wings, with the shafts of the first three quills prolonged, and the ends of the fourth to the seventh lengthen- ed, narrowed, and falcated ; the tail narrowed, with the four central feathers much prolonged and the lateral ones short and graduated ; the base of the bill and head entirely covered with feathers. To this genus belongs the Chinese jacana (H. Sinensis, Gmel.), which is the only Chestnut Jacana (Parra jacana). species described by Gray ; the habits are the same as in the preceding genus. The general color is brown, with the head, throat, front part of the neck, and wing coverts white; hind neck with golden silky plumes ; the long tail feathers black.