Common Name: Bronze-winged Jacana
Scientific Name: Metopidius indicus
Family: Jacanidae
Nepali Name: Lamaaule ( लामाऔँले )
Size: 28-31 cm
Location: Barhaiya Lake, Bardiya, Nepal 

The Bronze-winged Jacana is a wetland bird commonly found in ponds, marshes, and lakes with floating vegetation. In Nepal, it occurs mostly in lowland and mid-hill wetlands and has been recorded at elevations up to 915 m. This species is well known for its extremely long toes and claws, which allow it to walk gracefully across floating leaves such as water lilies and lotus.

The bird has a striking appearance. Its body is mostly dark brown to black, while the wings show a glossy bronze-green sheen, which gives the species its name. The face and throat are white, extending down the sides of the neck and contrasting sharply with the darker body. A small red frontal shield sits at the base of the bill, and the bill itself is pale greenish to yellow. The body is compact with relatively long legs, and the elongated toes are an important adaptation for moving across aquatic vegetation.

Male and female Bronze-winged Jacanas look very similar in plumage, but the female is typically larger and heavier than the male. This size difference is linked to their unusual breeding system in which females may mate with multiple males. Males take on most of the responsibility for incubating the eggs and caring for the chicks, often carrying the young under their wings when threatened.

Please feel free to comment below if the above species has been misidentified.

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