Nature has all sorts of surprises in its embrace, and it often plays tricks on us just when we think that we know it all!The avian world has many mesmerising birds, some have numerous colours in their feathers that they look almost painted by an artist, some build almost engineered nests, spik and span for their offspring, and whatnot. But have you ever heard of a bird with 8 legs? And is it even true or yet another nature’s trick?Let’s dig in to find out.
African Jacana dad (Photo: Neal Copper)
A tiny fluffy bird with 8 legs? True or just an illusion
Sometime back, a photo surfaced on social media, clicked by a wildlife photographer, that seems to defy basic biology.It showed a fluffy little bird with 8 legs in an impossible shape, and almost looked photoshopped even when it wasn’tWildlife photographer Neal Cooper was out in Chobe National Park when he spotted a male African jacana moving briskly across the lily pads. At first glance, the bird seemed to have eight legs, each a mix of long and short ones jutting out at odd angles.But surprisingly, it was neither photoshopped nor the bird actually. It was one of nature’s most beautiful relationships between the father bird, the African Jacana, and the chicks.
African Jacana birds rear their chicks inside their feathers
African Jacana chicks are born with unusually long legs, and when their father tucks them under his wings for protection, those legs simply don’t fit out of sight, they dangle out from underneath, creating the appearance of extra limbs.Cooper told The Dodo.com that he was already familiar with this jacana behaviour. He noted that “the larger female only lays the eggs and the father incubates and raises the chicks,” which is exactly why he was hoping to catch a shot of a father shuttling his young across the water.
Fatherhood in African jacana style
As it turns out, jacana dads don’t just protect their chicks occasionally; in fact, they’re the primary caregivers from start to finish. Cooper got the shot he was after when the father crouched low and four chicks scrambled in beneath his wings.“This dad did exactly that … when he crouched down, and the four chicks climbed in under his wings,” Cooper said. It is an example of paternal involvement that’s rare across the bird world, where mothers usually take on chick-rearing duties.
So, do the chicks always remain inside their father’s feathers?
This does not happen permanently, as the chicks don’t ride around under their father’s wings for long stretches. Typically, the father calls them over when he senses danger, tucks them in, moves them out of harm’s way, and then releases them just as quickly. It’s like an essential emergency shuttle service, deployed only when needed and wrapped up within moments.
The Jacana father stays close for months
Even outside these rescues, jacana fathers remain closely involved in their chicks’ upbringing for a long phase of their early life. Even though the young are technically capable of feeding and moving around fairly early on, the father continues teaching them essential survival skills for weeks, sometimes months, after hatching, according to Birdfact and Birdzilla.
