Pheasant-tailed Jacana Arrives (video)
The Pheasant-tailed Jacana usually turns up in June, but this season it was confirmed a little earlier than usual. The individual was very wary of crows and flew off every time one passed nearby.
At the baseball field, every time the Malayan Night Heron caught prey, a young Crested Serpent Eagle would steal it. Moving to a different spot would seem the obvious solution, but the pair of Malayan Night Herons appeared determined to stay at that feeding spot — they kept returning to feed despite being robbed repeatedly.
A Pheasant-tailed Jacana startled into the air by a crow. It appeared to be a young bird in first-summer plumage.
At the moment of landing, you can see the long toes and claws as well as a small claw-like "wing spur" at the carpal joint. Apparently the Pheasant-tailed Jacana and the Grey-headed Lapwing are about the only Japanese birds that have this wing spur. The Grey-headed Lapwing also has a "wing claw," though that structure is found in a scattering of other bird species as well.
The Pheasant-tailed Jacana was walking along the edges of rice paddies, feeding on small snails and the like.
A Crested Serpent Eagle attacking a Malayan Night Heron.
A Crested Serpent Eagle eating a large earthworm that a Malayan Night Heron had caught.
A Malayan Night Heron watching the departing Crested Serpent Eagle with what looked like resentment.
A female Malayan Night Heron, paired with the individual above.
A Black-tailed Godwit resting among Black-winged Stilts.