Male African Jacanas raise all the chicks

Having so much food available changes the dynamics between the sexes of African Jacanas. They’re a rare example of polyandry.

African Jacanas are beautiful and very distinctive birds, with their Wedgwood blue front facial shield, sleek black and white neck, and intense chestnut body with bright orange flames on their shoulders.

They eat insects and other invertebrates in the marshes of Amboseli, using their enormous feet to steady themselves in the shifting plants and mud of the wetlands here. They’d be the ideal bird to photograph on lily pads.

Females have so much food that they can produce multiple clutches of eggs. They mate with multiple males, lay a male a clutch of eggs to incubate and raise the chicks from, and then the female moves on to the next male and provides him with a clutch. It’s a polyandrous system which works perfectly for them.

It’s a rare system, with only one percent of birds using it.

The female African Jacanas are more than twice the weight of the males and defend a large territory against other females. The smaller males defend their own territory against other males within the female’s territory. She may have anything up to even males within her territory.

It’s a pleasure to see them so close.

More adventures on safari in Amboseli