The African jacana is a bird that lives on the water bodies of Africa. It has very long toes on its feet, thanks to which it walks on floating plant leaves and does not sink.
The African jacana differs from other birds with its very long toes on its feet and polyandry, in which males care for the offspring. It is important for nature because it eats pest insects and helps maintain balance in Africa's aquatic ecosystems.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
birth time
Bill and shield color
Hot and almost no precipitation
Picking small food items from foliage, ground, or other surfaces.
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
very hot and very humid all year round, rain almost every day
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
beak
adult
Maturity
plant
insects
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
small snails, mussels and other mollusks
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
rains are very rare, almost a desert
conifer cones
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
leaf
Height
16 to 24 grams, 7 – 12 centimeters
rains almost always, very humid
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
cones of coniferous trees with seeds
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
Age (larva)
algae
floating vegetation
Toes color
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
young after fast growth
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
Wings color
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
gleaning
Pets
Hot steppe
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Wingspan
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
small mollusks
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
all rivers and lakes
Low precipitation in winter
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
if born as {name}
omnivore
age
birth date
foraging on the water surface and plants
swimming
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
primary food sources
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
Very hot summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
aquatic
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
Food is gathered directly from leaf surfaces.
Always hot
No results found
On the map
Female ♀
all life stages
Down feathers color
Toes size
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
spiders
Very dry
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
nest
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
from birth to death
early young
Plumage color
world of Afrotropics
Freshwater
Duration
live insects
Always hot and wet
This is me
Toes count
Steppe
freshwater
Always very wet
Gamers
aquatic plants and algae
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
live spiders — arachnids of all sizes
water surface
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Mandarin
embryo
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Observations
◉{N} more on tap