CreatureData

Wattled jacana

Jacana jacana (Linnaeus, 1766)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The wattled jacana (Jacana jacana) is a species in the family Jacanidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 87.5 g to 144.1 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Wattled jacana (Jacana jacana)
Photo: Geoff Gallice from Gainesville · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the wattled jacana

Weight
87.5 g – 144.1 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
40 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
28 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the wattled jacana?

WATTLED JACANA · WINGSPAN 40 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 40 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the wattled jacana is about 24% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the wattled jacana live?

Not recorded

What is the wattled jacana?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The wattled jacana (Jacana jacana) is a wader in the family Jacanidae found throughout much of South America east of the Andes, as well as western Panama and Trinidad. It is the only species in the Jacanidae family with such a large distribution. Wattled jacanas have long toes and claws which help them walk through aquatic vegetation. Like the majority of species of jacanas, the female is larger than the male, and forms harems of up to 4 or 5 males at any given time. There is also a major difference in proportional development or ornamentation (facial crest and wing size) and defense (length of wing spur) relative to body size when compared to males.

From the Wikipedia article “Wattled jacana” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wattled_jacana&oldid=1381783868), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the wattled jacana endangered?

The wattled jacana is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the wattled jacana classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyJacanidae
  6. genusJacana
  7. SpeciesJacana jacana (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms Fulica jacana, Jacana spinosa, Parra brasiliensis, Parra jassana, Parra viridis

Other names and names in other languages (52)
  • يقنة مغببةArabic
  • xacanaAsturian
  • jacana sud-americàCatalan
  • ostnák jihoamerickýCzech
  • jasana tagellogWelsh
  • JacanaDanish
  • RotstirnblatthühnchenGerman
  • Rotstirn-BlatthühnchenGerman
  • JakanaoEsperanto
  • ruĝfrunta jakanoEsperanto
  • Jacana comúnSpanish
  • Gallito de Agua de Frente RojaSpanish
  • Gallito de ciénagaSpanish
  • Jacana sudamericanaSpanish
  • Jacana suramericanaSpanish
  • Jacana SureñaSpanish
  • LokutjassaanaEstonian
  • lokut-lootoselind (lokutjassaana)Estonian
  • helttajassanaFinnish
  • Jacana noirFrench
  • Xacana de fronte vermellaGalician
  • AguapeasoGuarani
  • južnoamerička jakanaCroatian
  • jasszánaHungarian
  • Jacana caruncolataItalian
  • Jacana dai barbigliItalian
  • Jacana dai bargigliItalian
  • ナンベイレンカクJapanese
  • juodoji žakanaLithuanian
  • Ūsuotoji žakanaLithuanian
  • Sekstes jakanaLatvian
  • LeljacanaDutch
  • rødflikbladhøneNorwegian
  • długoszpon krasnoczelnyPolish
  • jaçanãPortuguese
  • jaçanã-de-fronte-vermelhaPortuguese
  • jaçanã-sul-americanaPortuguese
  • ЯканаRussian
  • Сережчатая яканаRussian
  • Серёжчатая яканаRussian
  • Южноамериканская яканаRussian
  • jakana červenočeláSlovak
  • rjava jakanaSlovenian
  • Resasta jakanaSerbian
  • FlikjacanaSwedish
  • flikjaçanaSwedish
  • flikjassanaSwedish
  • Kırmızı Alınlı JakanaTurkish
  • якана червонолобаUkrainian
  • יאַסאַנאַYiddish
  • שפּאַרן־פֿליגלערYiddish
  • 肉垂水雉Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the wattled jacana

Other species in the same genus Jacana.

CompareWattled jacana vs Northern jacana

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the wattled jacana?

An adult wattled jacana weighs 87.5 g – 144.1 g and has a wingspan of 40 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the wattled jacana endangered?

The wattled jacana is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the wattled jacana?

The wattled jacana (Jacana jacana) belongs to the family Jacanidae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Wattled jacana (Jacana jacana). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/wattled-jacana

MLA

“Wattled jacana (Jacana jacana).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/wattled-jacana.

BibTeX
@misc{wattled_jacana_2026,
  title = {Wattled jacana (Jacana jacana)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/wattled-jacana},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}