Activity Pattern And Feeding Behaviour Of African Jacana (actophilornis Africanus) In Lake Hawassa

The present study documents activities and diet of African jacana (Actophilornis africanus) inrnLake Hawassa. Data were collected during the wet (July- August) and dry (January- February)rnseasons in 2017 using scan and focal sampling methods. Repeated observations were administeredrnto collect data on activity pattern and foraging behaviour of African jacanas. Activity patternsrnincluding feeding, scanning, flying, preening, resting and others were observed. African jacanarnfeed primarily on insects (63.7%). They also feed on worms (16.2), larvae (5.4), snails (5%), seedrn(3.7%) and other (6%) during the wet season and during the dry season insects (55.6%), wormsrn(12.2 %), larvae (8.2%), snails (7.1%) seed (6.5%) and other (10.3%) There was significancerndifference in the type of food consumed by African jacana during the wet season (F1 39 = 7.86, P 0.05). Major activities of the species werernmainly feeding 95.8 ± 5.6 and 149.3 ± 8.9 during the wet and dry seasons respectively. Feedingrnactivity was intensive and reached its peak in the morning (6:00 - 9:00) and late afternoon hoursrn(4:00 – 6:00). Resting was more during the mid-day (12:00 – 1:00). During the dry season, therernwas significant difference in the rates of feeding (F0.05, 118 = 15.24, P < 0.05) in the three timernperiods. The mean feeding rates were significantly higher in the morning than late afternoon (Postrnhoc Tukey HSD, p < 0.05). There were significant differences in the mean rates for scanning (F0.05,rn118= 6.9, p < 0.05), flying (F0.05, 118= 5.03, p< 0.05), resting (F0.05, 118=4.33, p < 0.05) during therndifferent periods. Further ecological studies on African jacana should be conducted to get morerninformation about the bird and facilitate conservation measures in the study area.

Get Full Work

Report copyright infringement or plagiarism