National Aviary - Pittsburgh, PA

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The African Jacana (Actophilornis africana) is a jacana. The jacanas are a group of waders in the family Charadriidae, which are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone.\n\nAfrican Jacana breeds throughout sub-Saharan Africa. It is sedentary apart from seasonal dispersion. It lays four black-marked brown eggs in a floating nest. The males, as in some other wader families like the phalaropes, take responsibility for incubation.\n\nThese are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are 30cm long, but the females are larger than the males. They have chestnut upperparts with black wingtips, rear neck and eyestripe. The underparts are white, with a chestnut belly patch in adult birds. The blue bill extends up as a coot-like head shield, and the legs and very long toes are grey.\n\nThe African Jacana's food is insects and other invertebrates picked from the floating vegetation or the water’s surface. DISTRIBUTION \nGalápagos, primarily seen on Floreana and other southern islands \nHABITAT \nLakes or lagoons of brackish water \n DIET \nThis bird eats small crustaceans. Its beak functions as a strainer. Particles up to a particular size can be sucked into its beak with water. Suction results when the bird retracts its thick, fleshy tongue with the beak slightly opened. This reduces the pressure in the beak so that water enters. The bird then closes the beak and moves the tongue forward, expelling the water while the food particles are caught on the lamellae, tiny tooth-like ridges inside the cutting edge of the bill. \n BREEDING \nThe nest is made of heaped up mud in the shape of a cone, with a shallow depression for the egg. A clutch consists of a single, white egg averaging about 3.5 by 2.2 inches. It is incubated for 27-31 days by both parents. The chick leaves the nest in 4-7 days. At 2-3 weeks, it grows a second gray, downy plumage and their beaks begin to bend. Adult plumage is assumed at age 3-4 years. DISTRIBUTION \nGalápagos, primarily seen on Floreana and other southern islands \nHABITAT \nLakes or lagoons of brackish water \n DIET \nThis bird eats small crustaceans. Its beak functions as a strainer. Particles up to a particular size can be sucked into its beak with water. Suction results when the bird retracts its thick, fleshy tongue with the beak slightly opened. This reduces the pressure in the beak so that water enters. The bird then closes the beak and moves the tongue forward, expelling the water while the food particles are caught on the lamellae, tiny tooth-like ridges inside the cutting edge of the bill. \n BREEDING \nThe nest is made of heaped up mud in the shape of a cone, with a shallow depression for the egg. A clutch consists of a single, white egg averaging about 3.5 by 2.2 inches. It is incubated for 27-31 days by both parents. The chick leaves the nest in 4-7 days. At 2-3 weeks, it grows a second gray, downy plumage and their beaks begin to bend. Adult plumage is assumed at age 3-4 years. Location: Africa, south of the Sahara. Location: Africa, south of the Sahara. Location: North and South America, Central and Southern Europe, Asia, Africa and Austraila Location: Throughout South America the Andes Mountain Range and Brazil The Blue Dacnis is a small Tanager which is fairly widespread throughout tropical South America and parts of Central America.\n It is usually found in pairs or as part of a mixed species flock high in the canopy.\n They feed on fruit and insects which they find on leaves . Location: South America Location: Northeastern Brazil Location: Himalayas, Malay Peninsula & southwest India. Location: Northern South America Location: Panama to Bolivia Location: Throughout Columbia, Peru, Ecuador & Brazil Location: South America Location: Southern Africa Location: Sub-sahara Africa Location: Southern United States to western Panama and the West Indies. The Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) is a common nesting bird of much of the south central U.S. including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. It also occurs in some areas of the south east such as Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas. Location: Southeast Africa Location: Sudan, Tanzania, somalia, Kenya, Uganda & Ethiopia. Location: Sudan, Tanzania, somalia, Kenya, Uganda & Ethiopia. Location: Southern Asia Also known as a Fire-crested Finch. Location: Eastern Mexico to Ecuador & Brazil. Location: Eastern Africa south of the Sahara Desert Location: Central and South America from Mexico to Argentina. Location: Mexico to Northern South America Location: Northern Brazil, northern Bolivia, eastern Peru & eastern Equador Location: Eastern Africa Location: Panama, Venezuela, Guyana, Surimane, western Ecuador, French Guiana, Trinidad, Brazil, eastern Peru, and Northern Boliva. Yellow-billed Cardinal (Paroaria capitata)\n \nThe Yellow-billed Cardinal forms a superspecies with the geographically separated Red-capped Cardinal, P. gularis of the Amazon and Orinoco basins and the Crimson-fronted Cardinal, P. baeri, of Central Brazil.\n\nThe distinguishing features of this species are a yellow - pink bill (not surprisingly), a completely red cap with black bib and a white collar which almost meets at the back of the neck. \n \n They are very common in the Pantanal and one of their favourite foods is the fruit of the cecropia tree. Location: South America to Trinidad & Tobago.