JACANA 175 
ground, the whole egg having a powdered or floury 
appearance, When the nest is approached the parent 
birds utter sharp, angry notes as they walk about 
at a distance. The young and old birds live in one 
flock until the following spring. 
The Carau is more nocturnal than the true Rails, 
and, having a far more powerful flight, takes to wing 
more readily; in its gestures and motions on the 
ground it resembles them, but differs strikingly from 
all Ralline birds in the habit it possesses of flying 
when disturbed to some open place, where it walks 
about conspicuously, watching the intruder. 
JACANA 
Parra jacana 
Head and neck purplish black; back and wings bright chestnut ; 
primaries and secondaries pale greenish yellow tipped with brown ; 
flanks dark chestnut; breast dark black ; abdomen purplish ; the tail 
chestnut tipped with black; wattles on head and base of bill red, 
rest of bill yellow; feet olive; length 10.5, wing 5.8 inches. Female 
similar. 
THE beautiful Jacana—pronounced something like 
Yasana—also called in the vernacular Alas-amarillas 
(Yellow-wings), differs very widely from all the other 
members of the Limicoline Order in which it is 
placed, in the enormously elongated toes which 
enable it to run about on the floating leaves of water 
plants. It is supposed to come nearest to the Plovers, 
