The bird that walks on water
With their outrageously long toes, these inhabitants of tropical freshwater marshes and streams are able to walk on floating vegetation, looking as if they were walking on water. They are sometimes called ‘lily-trotters’.
With a high-stepping walk and a jerk of the tail between each step, the Northern Jacana walks nimbly across the leaves of water lilies and other aquatic vegetation, picking insects, small molluscs and other animal food from the surface of the plants. Its spread toes with elongated claws cover an amazing area of 12x14cm, thus dispersing its weight over a wide area.
