jaçana

American  

[zhah-suh-nah, jah-] / ˌʒɑ səˈnɑ, ˌdʒɑ- /

noun

1. any of several tropical, ploverlike, aquatic birds of the family Jacanidae, most of them having extremely long toes and claws for walking on floating water plants.

---

jaçana British  

/ ˌʒɑːsəˈnɑː, ˌdʒæ- /

noun

1. Also called: lily-trotter.  any bird of the family Jacanidae , of tropical and subtropical marshy regions, having long legs and very long toes that enable walking on floating plants: order Charadriiformes

---

Etymology

Origin of jaçana

1640–50; < Portuguese jaçanã < Tupi jasaná

Example Sentences

It would mean that as the planet continued to warm, Bahamians like my mother, like Jacana Theoc, Tyrone Mather and Ann Wilmore, would not be at such risk of having their entire lives lacerated.

From New York Times

Jacana Theoc and her family were left with only the shell of their home.

From New York Times

Standing in her yard, her battered home behind us, Jacana Theoc told me how she and her six children endured three terrifying days inside the storm.

From New York Times

Her favorite specimen in her studio is an African jacana that earned her the incredible distinction of third place at the 2017 World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships.

From Washington Post

At a larger pond just down the road, a dozen spectacled caiman lounged in the shallows, and a long-toed bird called a wattled jaçana waded alongside a roseate spoonbill.

From New York Times