Whilst leading a birding tour to Sri Lanka, I spotted a flash of bright white in a lily-choked wetland near Ambalantota in the south-east of this verdant island.
A bright flash of white caught my attention in this lilly-choked wetland
Closer investigation revealed a stunning male Pheasant-tailed Jacana perched atop a female. Our excitement at finding these avian gems soon turned to amazement as the entire tour group became enraptured by the fascinating behavior that we were fortunate enough to observe.
The male Pheasant-tailed Jacana stood atop a female
The female bird was rhythmically moving her body from left to right, while at the same time the male on her back tracked her movements.
The female rhythmically moved her body left and right and the male tried his best to keep his balance as he followed her movements
The occasional flashes of white, which first caught our attention, were the male’s underwings, displayed as he raised his wings to regain balance when he lost synchrony with the female’s movement.
The male jacana flashes his white wings in an attempt to regain his balance
After several minutes, the female finally capitulated, arched her body as the male reached his forwards for the brief “cloacal kiss”, the method most birds use to mate.
The final conclusion, a cloacal-kiss!
Whilst we are on the subject of jacanas and their mating behavior, it is worth noting that this family of birds (as well as phalaropes and painted-snipes) is polyandrous. This is the opposite of polygamous; the females hold and actively defend territories containing several males with whom they have mating rights. When the female is ready to lay eggs, she will deposit a clutch of eggs in a nest built by each of her males and that is the end of her role in reproduction. The males will incubate the eggs and raise the chicks to fledgling status. However unlike phalaropes and painted-snipes, female jacanas are not more boldly-marked and colorful than the males.
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A fish may love a bird, but where would they live?
-Drew Barrymore
Bird Love Week is seven days of exploration of avian amore here on 10,000 Birds from April 22-28. We love birds, and the topic of birds loving other birds and in the process making more birds is a fascinating one we know you will enjoy. Mike, Corey, and a bevy of Beat Writers have been working on this one for awhile as the perfect expression of our love of all things avian. To see all of our Bird Love Week posts, just click here. But be warned – Bird Love Week is neither for the faint of heart nor for the permanently prudish – you may end up with images that you never imagined seared onto your brain.
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These birds are far too beautiful to be real. Then again, I feel that way about lots of birds!
Great pictures!
Great photos! How many species do you have photos of in the act? Someone had a collection of photos of birds doing something else when we did “Poop Week” last year! 🙂
Thanks Corey, Clare & Grant. I must admit I have more poop photos than bird love images, I guess the former is more commonly encountered!
wonderful picture