Lake Petén Itzá: Home Of The Northern Jacana Stock Photo

This is a Jacana spinosa bird species, Jacanidae family. Common name: northern jacana. Native to Mexico and Central America. Fancy-looking, vaguely chicken-like bird of freshwater marshes, lakes, and ponds in tropical lowlands. Walks with high-stepping gait, often on top of floating vegetation. Dark brown body with a black head and neck. Its bill has yellow patches and its forehead has a yellow wattle. The bill has a white base. When a jacana is in flight, its yellowish-green primary and secondary feathers are visible. Also visible are yellow bony spurs on the leading edge of the wings, which it can use to defend itself and its young. The greenish colour of the wing feathers is produced by a pigment, rather rare in birds, called zooprasinin, a copper containing organic compound. Observed at lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala.