- Aramus guarauna
Identification
56–71 cm (22-28 in)
- Dark brown overall plumage
- Gray head and neck
- Back and upperwing coverts have bold white spots and streaks
- Long legs and neck
- Long, yellowish bill
Immature similar to adult, but paler. White-streaked underwing coverts visible in flight.
Sexes similar.
Distribution
Southeast U.S., Central America to northern Argentina, Brazil, West Indies
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 4 subspecies[1]
- A. g. pictus - Florida, Cuba and Jamaica
- A. g. elucus - Hispaniola and Puerto Rico
- A. g. dolosus - South East Mexico to Panama
- A. g. guarauna - South America (except for arid west coast, Andes and extreme south)
Habitat
Open freshwater rivers, lake edges, mangroves, swamps and marshes.
Behaviour
Diet
Their main diet consists of apple snails, but they also include other aquatic snails and mussels.
Breeding
They nest on the ground. The clutch consists of about 4-8 olive-buff, brown blotched eggs. The nest is a platform of reeds and grass, lined with finer plant material. Incubation is by both sexes.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2017)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Limpkin. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 July 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Limpkin
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1