145 A BIRD CALENDAR 



(Hydrophasianus chirurgus). They are to be 

 found on most tanks in the well-watered parts 

 of the United Provinces. They occur in 

 small flocks and are often put up by sportsmen 

 when shooting duck. They emit weird mewing 

 cries. The bronze -winged jacana is a black 

 bird with bronze wings. It is about the size 

 of a pigeon, but has much longer legs. The 

 pheasant-tailed species is a black-and-white 

 bird. In winter the tail is short, but in May 

 both sexes grow long pheasant-like caudal 

 feathers which give the bird its popular name. 

 The bronze- winged jacana does not grow these 

 long tail feathers. 



The nests of jacanas are truly wonderful 

 structures. They are just floating pads of 

 rushes and leaves of aquatic plants. Some- 

 times practically the whole of the pad is under 

 water, so that the eggs appear to be resting on 

 the surface of the tank. The nest of the 

 bronze- winged species is usually larger and 

 more massive than that of the water-pheasant. 

 The latter's nest is sometimes so small as 

 hardly to be able to contain the eggs a little, 

 shallow, circular cup of rushes and water- 

 weeds or floating lotus leaves or tufts of water- 

 grass. The eggs of the two species show but 



