Bird: Limpkin (Aramus guarauna)

Length: 26"

Description: A dark brown, heron shaped bird with distinctive white streaks on the back. The neck is long and conformable. The legs are long and dark with knee joints that bend in back. Feet are not webbed. Bill is long and curves slightly downward at the end. The Limpkin is an awkward flyer, especially during landings.

Voice: Sings mostly at dusk and after dark, a very distinctive kerrr-ooww... like a child or a woman screaming. Florida pioneers mistook the call of the Limpkin for the haunting wails of tortured souls in the nighttime swamps. Audio is available at eNature.com.

Feeding: Chief diet is the Apple Snail. The Limpkin's bill is specially designed to pull snails from their shells. The draining of wetland areas and resulting loss of habitat for the snails threatens the Limpkin. Its range is limited to Florida and numbers are declining.

Behavior at Wakodahatchee: Large numbers of Limpkin have been seen at Wakodahatchee, and flocks as large as twelve have been spotted on the berms. Pairs of Limpkin stay at the Wetlands late into the summer to breed.

Click here for more information on The Limpkin from eNature.com