Northern Jacana, Jacana spinosa

Northern Jacana, Jacana spinosa, Juvenile. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California, taken in the coastal region of Costa Rica, February 2016.

Northern Jacana, Jacana spinosa. Photographs courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California, taken in the coastal region of Costa Rica, February 2016.

The Northern Jacana, Jacana spinosa, is a member of the Jacanidae Family of Jacanas, that are also known as Jesus Birds. They are mid-sized in stature. In Mexico they are found within the Atlantic Slope in coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico south of Tampico, Tamaulipas to Belize and within the Pacific Slope in coastal regions between Mazatlán, Sinaloa south to Guatemala at elevations up to 1,200 m (4,000 feet). From a conservation perspective the Northern Jacana is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are found in marshes, shallow freshwater ponds and on the edges of heavily vegetated lakes. They primarily consume insects and small fish on a limited basis.