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Aramus guarauna

(Linnaeus, 1766)

Limpkin

G5Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104955
Element CodeABNMJ01010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderGruiformes
FamilyAramidae
GenusAramus
Other Common Names
Carão (PT) Carao, Karâu (ES) Courlan brun (FR) limpkin (EN)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-11-25
Change Date1996-11-25
Edition Date1995-05-04
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank Reasons
Very large range, locally common. Secure on a global basis, but regional trends are unknown for most areas.
Range Extent Comments
Resident in southeastern Georgia, Florida, Greater Antilles (rare in Puerto Rico), and from southern Mexico to South America.
Ecology & Habitat

Description

A large, long-necked wading bird with long grayish green legs and webless toes; predominantly brown (immature paler), with dense white streaking above; bill is long and slightly decurved; unusual limping gait; average length 66 cm (NGS 1983).

Diagnostic Characteristics

Differs from large rails in being at least 28 cm longer and in having prominent white streaks on the upperparts. Differs from large sandpipers in being much larger and having a heavier bill. Similarly shaped sandpipers, and glossy and white-faced ibises, do not have prominent white streaks on the upperparts.

Habitat

Swampy forest, marshes, mangroves. Open freshwater marshes, pond and river margins, occasionally wooded swamps (Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Nests in sawgrass or loose mass of leaves just above water, in vines growing over shrubs along streams, or in bushes or trees along deeper streams (Terres 1980).

Ecology

In Costa Rica, makes pronounced local movements according to water levels (Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Reproduction

In the north, eggs are laid mostly in March-April. Clutch size is 4-8. Incubation is by both sexes. Young leave nest on day of hatching.
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
GeorgiaS1Yes
FloridaS3Yes
South CarolinaS3Yes
Roadless Areas (2)
Florida (1)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Springs CreekOcala National Forest2,954
Puerto Rico (1)
AreaForestAcres
El Toro AreaCaribbean National Forest12,584
References (22)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Bent, A. C. 1926. Life histories of North American marsh birds. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. 135.
  4. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  5. Braun, M. J., D. W. Finch, M. B. Robbins, and B. K. Schmidt. 2000. A field checklist of the birds of Guyana. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  6. Bryan, C. 1981. Territoriality and pairbonding in the Limpkin (ARAMUS GUARAUNA). M.S. Thesis. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. 62pp.
  7. Carter, M., G. Fenwick, C. Hunter, D. Pashley, D. Petit, J. Price, and J. Trapp. 1996. Watchlist 1996: For the future. Field Notes 50(3):238-240.
  8. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  9. Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  10. Ingalls, E. A. 1972. Aspects of the ethology of Limpkins (ARAMUS GUARAUNA). M.S. Thesis, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida. 131pp.
  11. National Geographic Society (NGS). 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.
  12. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  13. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  14. Raffaele, H. A. 1983a. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Fondo Educativo Interamericano, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 255 pp.
  15. Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
  16. Ridgely, R. S. 2002. Distribution maps of South American birds. Unpublished.
  17. Ridgely, R. S. and J. A. Gwynne, Jr. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.
  18. Rodgers, J. A., Jr., H. W. Kale, III, and H. T. Smith. 1996. Rare and endangered biota of Florida. Volume V. Birds. University Press of Florida. 736pp.
  19. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  20. Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp.
  21. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  22. Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.