104 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



cliaraotcr distiniiuishinfr the jafanas from the j)lover8 and snipes is the iiuniher of 

 reclrice.s, said to he ten in the former, against twelve or more in the latter. 



All the fonns belonging to this very distinet family liave a metacarpal 's])ur,' 

 which in the genera Jacana and IlydropJiasianua is large and sharp, while in the 

 others it is small and hlunt. Of this spur Professor Forbes remarks, that it has no 

 relation whatever to the claw or nail of the pollex, which is also ])resent, though 

 small. The spur in Jacana spinosa at least "consists of an external, translucent, 

 yellow epidermic layer, which invests a central core of compact fibrous tissue, this in 

 turn being suj)ported by a bony jirojection developed at the radial side of the first 

 metacar])al." This s]iiir is a formidable wea]'on, but it seems that the forms in wliich 

 it is small and blunt have received a coniiiensMtioii fur the absence of a real spur in 

 an extraonlinarv develojiment of the radius. Iti bii-ds, as a rule, this bone is slenderer 

 than the ulna, but in the mend)ers of the genus JAtojjidiits, and jirobably also in 

 Jli/ilralector cristatus, the radius is dilated and flattened into a sub-triangnlar lamellar- 

 like expansion for its distal half, as shown in tlie accompanying cut. The margin of 

 the bone, where it is suiierficial, is slightly roughened; and no doubt, as Forbes 



remai'ks, the jjeculiar form of radius is asso- 

 ciated with tlie quarrelsome habits of these 

 birds, this dilated and somewhat seimetar- 

 sha])ed bone being pi-obably capable of inflict- 

 ing a very severe downward blow. 

 Fio. 48. — Cubitus of .Veto/iiiiiiis ; ii, humeru? ; r, TJie bicanas form a small family of tropi- 



riulius ; u, ulna. ** ^ • * 



cal birds, one genus, Jacana (or Parra, as 

 it erroneously has been called I'v most ornithologists), of about four sj)ecies, being 

 tropical American, with one representative, J. gymnostoma, a native of Central 

 America and Mexico, just entering the United States on the border of Texas; while 

 the one figured is the commonest South American species; another genus, Mttopidius, 

 is Indo-African in its distribution, and Ilydralector is Malayan, while Ihjdrophasiamis 

 chiriir(ii(s, hails from India and the countries to the east, including the Philij)pine 

 Islands and Formosa. The latter, which is the pheasant-tailed jayana of writers, is a 

 remarkably striking bird. It is devoid of the naked lobes on the head, so character- 

 istic of the true jacanas, but is esi)ecially noticeable for the four enormously elongated 

 tail-feathers, which are gracefully arched like those of a iiheasant. The length of the 

 bird is about eighteen inches, the tail alone measuring ten inches. On the authority 

 of Blyth we introduce the following notice of their habits: "These birds breed during 

 tlie rains, in flooded spots, where the lotus is jilentiful, the pair forming a rude, flat 

 nest of grass and weeds, interwoven beneath with the long shoots of some growing, 

 aquatic plant, which retain it buoyant on the surface. Herein are laid six or seven 

 olive-brown, jiear-shaped eggs, of an inch and a quarter in length. Their slender 

 bodies and widely extending toes enable ja(;anas to run with facility, apjiarently 

 on the water, but in reality, wherever any floating leaves or green herbage meets their 

 light tread. The food consists of the green, tender paddy, or other vegetable growth, 

 dependent <in inundation for its ]>roduction, and the mnnerous s])ecies of insects that 

 abound in such spots. The cry is like that of a kitten in distress, whence their native 

 name of meeimh. In flight, the legs are trailed behind like those of the lierons. The 

 flesh is excellent." Blyth adds that he has sometimes seen it to all api)earance walk- 

 ing on the water, the supports on which its long toes really rested being slight an<l 

 little visible. Legge says that in Ceylon it is wonderfully numerous on the northeni 



