Pheasant-tailed Jacana
Pheasant-tailed JacanaPheasant-tailed JacanaPheasant-tailed JacanaPheasant-tailed Jacana

Pheasant-tailed Jacana

Hydrophasianus chirurgus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
10–20% · With luck
overall probability at Wilpattu National Park
77 Verified records at Wilpattu National Park
October Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's active during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

The pheasant-tailed jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus) is a jacana in the monotypic genus Hydrophasianus. Like all other jacanas, they have elongated toes and nails that enable them to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, their preferred habitat. They may also swim or wade in water reaching their body while foraging mainly for invertebrate prey. They are found in tropical Asia from Yemen in the west to the Philippines in the east and move seasonally in parts of their range. They are the only jacanas that migrate long distances and have different non-breeding and breeding plumages. The pheasant-tailed jacana forages by swimming or by walking on aquatic vegetation. Wikipedia →

10–20% of wildlife watchers report a Pheasant-tailed Jacana sighting in Wilpattu National Park, based on 77 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Closest Relatives at Wilpattu National Park

Red-wattled Lapwing
LC Endemic

Red-wattled Lapwing

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Vanellus indicus

70–80% · Very likely
Black-winged Stilt
LC

Black-winged Stilt

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Himantopus himantopus

50–60% · Likely
Whiskered Tern
LC

Whiskered Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chlidonias hybrida

40–50% · Likely
Great Thick-knee
NT

Great Thick-knee

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Esacus recurvirostris

30–40% · Possible
Wood Sandpiper
LC

Wood Sandpiper

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tringa glareola

30–40% · Possible
Pacific Golden-Plover
LC

Pacific Golden-Plover

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Pluvialis fulva

30–40% · Possible
Common Sandpiper
LC

Common Sandpiper

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Actitis hypoleucos

20–30% · Possible
Marsh Sandpiper
LC

Marsh Sandpiper

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tringa stagnatilis

10–20% · With luck
Pin-tailed Snipe
LC

Pin-tailed Snipe

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Gallinago stenura

10–20% · With luck
Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Gelochelidon nilotica

10–20% · With luck
Common Redshank
LC

Common Redshank

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tringa totanus

10–20% · With luck
Common Greenshank
LC

Common Greenshank

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tringa nebularia

10–20% · With luck

📅 Monthly Probability

10–20
Jan
10–20
Feb
10–20
Mar
10–20
Apr
10–20
May
5–10
Jun
20–30
Jul
20–30
Aug
20–30
Sep
30–40
Oct
10–20
Nov
10–20
Dec

☀️ When They're Spotted

Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)

☀️Diurnal
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
40–50%
2 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
30–40%
3 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
10–20%
4 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
10–20%
5 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
6 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
7 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
8 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
9 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
11 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
12 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
13 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Insufficient data
14 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
Insufficient data
15 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
Insufficient data
16 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
Insufficient data
17 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Pheasant-tailed Jacana in Wilpattu National Park?

About 18% of wildlife watchers report a Pheasant-tailed Jacana sighting in Wilpattu National Park, based on 77 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Pheasant-tailed Jacana in Wilpattu National Park?

October has the highest sighting rate for Pheasant-tailed Jacana in Wilpattu National Park in our monthly data.

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