Jacanas (Jacanidae)

Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana) - HBW 3, p. 291

French: Jacana noir German: Rotstirn-Blatthühnchen Spanish: Jacana Suramericana

Taxonomy: Parra Jacana Linnaeus, 1766, Surinam.
Genus occasionally considered to include Hydrophasianus, or alternatively Actophilornis, Irediaparra and Metopidius, but neither proposal widely accepted. Forms superspecies with J. spinosa, but probably not conspecific as suggested by some authors. Range almost overlaps with that of J. spinosa in W Panama, and in past did so; local race hypomelaena of present species is the least similar to J. spinosa. Six subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

hypomelaena (G. R. Gray, 1846) - WC Panama (Veraguas) to N Colombia (Magdalena Valley).
melanopygia (P. L. Sclater, 1857) - W Colombia (Cauca Valley) to W Venezuela (L Maracaibo).
intermedia (P. L. Sclater, 1857) - N & C Venezuela.

See all 6 subspecies

hypomelaena (G. R. Gray, 1846) - WC Panama (Veraguas) to N Colombia (Magdalena Valley).
melanopygia (P. L. Sclater, 1857) - W Colombia (Cauca Valley) to W Venezuela (L Maracaibo).
intermedia (P. L. Sclater, 1857) - N & C Venezuela.
jacana (Linnaeus, 1766) - SE Colombia E through S Venezuela to Trinidad and the Guianas, and S through most of Brazil to E Bolivia, N Argentina and Uruguay.
scapularis Chapman, 1922 - lowlands of W Ecuador and NW Peru.
peruviana Zimmer, 1930 - NE Peru (lower R Ucayali) and adjacent NW Brazil (upper R Amazon).