Tringa chirurgus Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr. (1786),
2, 92.
Hydrophasis chirurgus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 24,
69; Hand-List (1899), 1, 168; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2,
71; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 30.
Calayan (McGregor); Luzon (McGregor); Mindanao (Mearns); Mindoro
(Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester). Indian Peninsula, Indo-Chinese
countries to Malay Peninsula and greater Sunda Islands.
Adult in breeding plumage.--Sexes similar; head, chin, and throat
white; occiput and a line on each side of neck black, behind this a
large saddle of golden yellow; mantle and scapulars dark brown glossed
with violet; back, rump, and tail black; lower parts, except chin and
throat, dead black; first primary black, the other primaries mostly
white, but with some black at their tips; remainder of wing white;
axillars and wing-lining white. Iris brown, bill blue, paler at tip;
legs blue; nails blackish. Length of male about 330; wing, 190; tail,
131; exposed culmen, 28; tarsus, 54; middle toe with claw, 75; hind
toe without claw, 20; claw, 29. Length of female, 380; wing, 250;
tail, 162; exposed culmen, 28; tarsus, 60; middle toe with claw, 85;
hind toe with claw, 57.
Adult in non-breeding plumage.--Differs from the breeding plumage
chiefly as follows: Upper parts earthy brown with little gloss; under
parts, including tail and its coverts, white except a black plastron
on fore breast which extends forward on each side of neck; golden
collar replaced by a golden yellow band on each side; secondaries
and coverts mostly earthy brown speckled with white.
Birds in intermediate plumage present endless combinations of the
breeding and non-breeding plumage.
"Young.--Generally resembles the winter plumage of the adults, but
is always distinguished by its rufous head, and in the first stage
of plumage by the sandy rufous margins to the feathers of the upper
surface; the dusky band of the sides of the neck is feebly indicated
and the horseshoe collar on the fore neck is marked by a few spots
of dusky blackish; the white on the primaries is more restricted,
but the elongated tips are present." (Sharpe.)
"Quite abundant about the Laguna de Naujan, in Mindoro. It runs about
over the leaves of water plants, and when approached sinks its body
in the water until only its head and tail can be seen. When wounded
it dives, and sometimes hangs onto water plants below the surface
until it dies." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
This jacana is abundant in Luzon in fresh-water swamps and on the
borders of lakes.
Genus HYDRALECTOR Wagler, 1832.
This genus differs from Hydrophasianus chiefly in having a fleshy
lappet near the base of bill and the tips of the primaries not
attenuated.