Habitat: Freshwater marshes, on slow flowing rivers and streams with abundant vegetation. Distribution: Southern Texas (erratic) and Mexico to western Panama; West Indies. Natural History Notes: The females are larger than males. In the breeding season, they are on average 77% heavier than the males! The females copulate and lay eggs with several males. Also, Jacana spinosa uses its long wings as a way to scare potential predators of its chicks. Characteristics: The adult plumage looks like the following description: black head and neck, dark chestnut brown body. The 3 bright yellow lobes above the beak is called a wattle. The juvenile plumage is a little different, with the presence of black eye stripe, white underparts and brown wings. It is interesting to note that the chicks have large webbed feet that allow them to walk on the pond vegetation. Notes: Conservation status according to IUCN 2008 Red list: Least Concern (LC). It is a resident species.