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Limpkin

Aramus guarauna

The limpkin (Aramus guarauna), also called carrao, courlan, and crying bird, is a large wading bird related to rails and cranes, and the only extant species in the family Aramidae. It is found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the Americas, from Florida to northern Argentina, but has been spotted as far north as Wisconsin and Southern Ontario.

Limpkin
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Svtiste~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domain

Overview

The limpkin (Aramus guarauna), also called carrao, courlan, and crying bird, is a large wading bird related to rails and cranes, and the only extant species in the family Aramidae. It is found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the Americas, from Florida to northern Argentina, but has been spotted as far north as Wisconsin and Southern Ontario. It feeds on molluscs, with the diet dominated by apple snails of the genus Pomacea. Its name derives from its seeming limp when it walks.

Habitat & distribution

Habitats

FreshwaterBrackish WaterTerrestrial

Video

The Limpkin is a wetlands specialty of Florida, where the birds can be seen opening snails and clams. How do they accomplish this amazing feat with such a long slender beak? The answer is shown in the video. However, you may have to watch the clip several times to discern a subtle, yet, important feature of the bill. Also, you may want to stop reading and first watch the video before I divulge the answer. Look closely and you will notice that when the bill is closed there is a gap mid-way up the beak, between the top and bottom mandibles. (Note: When closed, the mandibles form a sharp point that is good for spearing prey, and touch at the tip of the bill.) This arrangement allows a limpkin to apply considerable force at the tip of its bill (not unlike using a pair of tweezers to remove a splinter) to hold a slippery shell, as the bird rotates the shell to cut through muscle, etc.Credit: TerraNaturalist · CC BY 3.0Source ↗

Sounds

:Partly given in flight bird-seen:yes playback-used:no Common name: Limpkin Type: calls Genus: Aramus Species: guarauna Location: Manabí: La Segua marsh (Chone lakes) Country: Ecuador Elevation: 18 mNiels Krabbe · CC BY-SA 4.0

References

  1. GBIF Auto Sync GBIF
  2. WoRMS / Aphia World Register of Marine Species
  3. Wikipedia — Limpkin Wikipedia

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