Diurnal activity patterns and feeding behaviour of African jacana (Actophilornis africanus Gmelin) in Lake Hawassa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Birds exhibit great flexibility in adjusting time budget to maintain their daily requirements. A study on the activity pattern and feeding behaviour of African jacana (Actophilornis africanus Gmelin) was carried out along the shore of Lake Hawassa, Ethiopia, during the wet (July and August) and dry (January and February) seasons.  Scan sampling method was used to study the activity patterns of African jacana. Focal sampling method with 10 minutes observation duration was used to study its feeding behaviour. African jacana were observed engaged in daily activities of feeding, scanning, flying, preening, resting, and showing other antagonistic activities where the feeding activity comprised the highest proportion during both the wet (40.1%) and dry (45.6%) seasons. Time allocated to different activities varied with the different time of the day where African jacanas were predominantly active in the morning and late in the afternoon. There was a statistically significant variation in the type of food consumed by African jacana during the wet season (F_{1, 39} = 7.86, p < 0.05). They feed primarily on insect (63.7%) followed by worms (16.2), larvae of insects (5.4), snails (5%), seed (3.7%) and other food items (6%). During the dry season, there was also a significant difference in the type of food consumed (F_{1, 39} = 3.11, p < 0.05). They primarily fed on insects (55.6%) followed by worms (12.2 %), larvae of insects (8.2%), snails (7.1%) seed (6.5%) and others (10.3%). There was no significance difference in the type of food consumed between the wet and dry seasons (F_{1, 39} =1.48, p > 0.05). Further ecological studies and impact of human activities on Lake Hawassa should be conducted for the conservation of the bird and other sympatric species.