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; watdes 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 Hke 

 Yasand — ^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, 



