Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.

A Rabindranath Tagore quotation

Identify this bird

Northern Jacana

The American … are now split into three species and three additional subspecies. They are widely distributed throughout the American Tropics. These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds, with all three races being very similar. They are 17–23cm long, but the females are larger than the males.

The birds food is insects, other invertebrates and seeds picked from the floating vegetation or the water’s surface.

The bird is a wader which is a resident breeder from coastal Mexico to western Panama, and in Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola. It sometimes breeds in Texas, and has also been recorded as a vagrant in Arizona.

Identification Tips:
• Length: 7 inches
• Large shorebird
• Fairly short, yellow bill and frontal shield
• Long toes
• Pale green flight feathers
• Rare in south Texas

These are a group of wetland birds, which are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone.