372 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I50 



croaches on its haunts. Formerly it was spread widely through the 

 republic, but hunting and casual killing have destroyed it over exten- 

 sive areas. It has not been reported recently from Chiriqui and 

 southern Veraguas though some may remain in mountain areas, and it 

 has been a good many years since it has been found in the Canal 

 Zone. Some remain in remoter areas in Bocas del Toro, northern 

 Veraguas, Colon, eastern Panama, Darien, and San Bias, mainly in 

 hill country. C. O. Handley, Jr. found them at a thousand meters 

 and higher on Cerro Mali in 1959, and in 1962 recorded them at 

 similar elevations on Cerro Hoya in western Los Santos. 



They are called primavera on the Rio Tuira; and in Venezuela 

 are known as tigana, or locally as pavito real. 



Order CHARADRIIFORMES 

 Family JACANIDAE : Ja^anas ; Gallitos de Agua 



The eight species of this family, found in the tropical and sub- 

 tropical areas of Africa, southeastern Asia (from India to the 

 Philippine Islands), and America are marked by long, slender legs 

 with the toes tipped with greatly elongated, straight claws, so that 

 these birds walk with ease over the floating plants that carpet the 

 quiet waters of their haunts. In all of the forms the bend of the 

 wing is armed with a sharp-pointed, strong spur, a weapon to be 

 regarded with respect. The wide distribution of the living species 

 indicates a considerable antiquity in geologic time. 



In America, where jaganas range from the lower Rio Grande 

 Valley in Texas through Mexico, the Greater Antilles (except 

 Puerto Rico), Central America, and South America to northern 

 Argentina and Uruguay, two populations are found, superficially so 

 similar that there has been uncertainty as to their status. In the 

 accounts that follow, where their characters are described they are 

 treated as species that may hybridize when they are in contact in the 

 breeding season. 



JACANA SPINOSA SPINOSA (Linnaeus): Northern Jagana; Gallito de Agua 



Castano 



Figure 63 



Fulica spinosa Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, vol. 1, 1758, p. 152. (Western 

 Panama.) 



Legs and toes very long in proportion to size of body; back and 

 abdomen chestnut-brown. 



Description. — Length 220 to 230 mm. Frontal plate with a central 

 division so that it is 3-lobed. Adult (sexes alike, except in size), 

 head, neck, and upper breast black with a greenish sheen ; rest of body 



