Parridae The jacanas (sometimes referred to as Jesus birds or lily trotters) are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae.

[13] A fossil from Miocene strata in the Czech Republic was assigned to this family,[14] but more recent analysis disputes the placement and moves the species to the Coraciidae.

[15] Jacanas are identifiable by their elongated toes and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat.

The latter, as in some other wader families like the phalaropes, take responsibility for incubation and care of chicks, and most species (with the exception of the monogamous lesser jacana) are polyandrous.

[19] They construct relatively flimsy nests on floating vegetation, and lay eggs with dark irregular lines on their shells, providing camouflage amongst water weeds.

[16] The eggs are slightly smaller than in comparable species and it has been considered that this may be due to an evolutionary tradeoff given the larger number of clutches that are laid.

[23] The stomach contents of jacanas have been found to include algae, as well as plant roots and stems, but it is thought that this may be incidentally ingested along with their invertebrate prey.