Northern Jacana

How to find it

Scan floating plants such as lily pads at the edges of ponds and marshes, and listen for the calls. Look first in ponds, marshes and lagoons with flowering water plants and sheltered margins. A wildlife photographer found plenty of jacana action at a grassy Guanacaste pond with big patches of floating plants, where birds foraged in mixed groups with other species. Seen from a boat, they were often in pairs, and in the northern wetlands they sat in shallow lagoons near the boat ramps. Tortuguero's waterways are best explored by boat tour. Walking the trails near the Tárcoles River at Carara National Park gives a chance to see jacanas and Boat-billed Herons in the wetlands.

How to recognise it

Adults show a clear pattern of colour blocks:

Black head, neck and breast.

Chestnut-maroon body.

Bright yellow bill with a yellow plate on the forehead.

Pale yellow-green flight feathers with dark tips.

A yellow spur on the leading edge of each wing.

The very long toes are often hidden in the water, so they are easy to miss. Juveniles show a white eyebrow stripe and white between the eye and bill. Females are about twice the weight of males. Chicks are downy with orange, brown, black and white patterns. A pair of binoculars shows the yellow plate and wing spurs well.

What it sounds like

Recording: Dan MacNeal, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

The bird searches the water's edge and floating plants for insects, snails, worms, small fish and seeds. It holds itself upright while feeding to watch for danger. When it walks or flies it opens its wings, which are yellow underneath.

Females are dominant and have several mates, and the male incubates the eggs. A study at Palo Verde National Park looked at how adults defend their young against intruders. Breeding groups are often dense, causing frequent territorial fights. A female's territory covers those of one to four males, and males hold territories much longer than females.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it lives along ponds, marshes, slow rivers and flooded pastures, and it prefers calm or slow-moving water. Ponds, marshes and lagoons with flowering water plants and margins sheltered by vegetation are the places to look first.

Locally it occurs in smaller numbers along the lowlands of both slopes. It reaches about 1500 m in the central mountains and about 1200 m on the southern Pacific slope. It is most abundant in Guanacaste and the Río Frío area.

When to see it

One site says spoonbills, jacanas and storks are seen in greatest numbers in the wet months, May to November, in the northern wetlands. In Guanacaste it nests in the rainy season, while where water is permanent, such as Turrialba, it breeds almost all year.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans call it cirujano (surgeon), mulita de agua, gallito de agua or yegüita, while the AOCR list uses Jacana Centroamericana. In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards called it the 'spur-winged water hen'.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a resident (R), it lives in Costa Rican wetlands all year, and its IUCN status is Least Concern.

Photography tips

A watchful male often leads small chicks across floating plants, so look for chicks near an adult at pond edges. Birds open their wings, yellow underneath, when they walk or fly, which gives a chance for a showy wing shot.