Limpkin (Aramus Guarauna)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The limpkin (''Aramus guarauna''), also called carrao, courlan, and crying bird, is a large wading bird related to
rails Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters * Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fi ...
and cranes, and the only extant species in the
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Aramidae. It is found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
, from
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
to northern Argentina, but has been spotted as far north as Wisconsin and Southern Ontario. It feeds on
mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
s, with the diet dominated by
apple snails Ampullariidae, whose members are commonly known as apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails that includes the mystery snail species. They are aquatic gastropod mollusks with a gill and an operculum. These snails simultaneously ha ...
of the genus ''
Pomacea ''Pomacea'' is a genus of freshwater snails with gills and an Operculum (gastropod), operculum, Aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. The genus is native to the Americas; most species in this ge ...
''. Its name derives from its seeming limp when it walks.


Taxonomy and systematics

The limpkin is placed in the family Aramidae, which is in turn placed within the crane and
rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...
order
Gruiformes The Gruiformes ( ) are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". Traditionally, a number of wading and terrestrial bird families that ...
. The limpkin had been suggested to be close to the
ibis The ibis () (collective plural ibises; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...
and
spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...
family
Threskiornithidae The family Threskiornithidae includes 36 species of large wading birds. The family has been traditionally classified into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills; however, recent genetic studies have cast doubt on this arrangement, and ha ...
, based upon shared bird
lice Louse (: lice) is the common name for any member of the infraorder Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera was previously recognized as an order, until a 2021 genetic study determined th ...
. The
Sibley–Ahlquist taxonomy of birds The Sibley–Ahlquist taxonomy is a bird Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon E. Ahlquist. It is based on DNA–DNA hybridization studies conducted in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. DNA–DNA hybridization is ...
, based upon
DNA–DNA hybridization In genomics, DNA–DNA hybridization is a molecular biology technique that measures the degree of genetic similarity between DNA sequences. It is used to determine the genetic distance between two organisms and has been used extensively in phylo ...
, suggested that the limpkin's closest relatives were the
Heliornithidae The Heliornithidae are a small family of tropical birds with webbed lobes on their feet like those of grebes and coots. The family overall are known as finfoots, although one species is known as a sungrebe. The family is composed of three specie ...
finfoots, and Sibley and Monroe even placed the species in that family in 1990. More recent studies have found little support for this relationship. More recent DNA studies have confirmed a close relationship with particularly the cranes, with the limpkin remaining as a family close to the cranes and the two being sister taxa to the
trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
s. Although the limpkin is the only
extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...
species in the family today, several
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
s of extinct Aramidae are known from across the Americas. The earliest known species, ''
Aramus paludigrus ''Aramus paludigrus'' is an extinct species of limpkin, semi-aquatic birds related to cranes (order Gruiformes), which are similar. ''Aramus paludigrus'' was found in the famous Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of the Honda Group at La Venta, dating fr ...
'', is dated to the middle
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
of Colombia. An Oligocene fossil from Europe, ''
Parvigrus ''Parvigrus'' is an extinct bird genus, with the single species ''Parvigrus pohli''. It is considered a family, the Parvigruidae. The remains of ''Parvigrus pohli'' have been described from fossils found in Vachères in France, from rocks from ...
pohli'' (family Parvigruidae), has been described as a mosaic of the features shared by the limpkins and the cranes. It shares many morphological features with the cranes and limpkins, but also was much smaller than either group, and was more rail-like in its proportions. In the paper describing the fossil,
Gerald Mayr Gerald Mayr is a German palaeontologist who is Curator of Ornithology at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse. He has published extensively on fossil birds, especially the Paleogene avifauna of Europe.Mayr, Gerald (2016). ...
suggested that it was similar to the stem species of the grues (the cranes and limpkins), and that the limpkins evolved massively long bills as a result of the specialisation to feeding on snails. In contrast, the cranes evolved into long-legged forms to walk and probe on open grasslands.


Subspecies

Between 1856 and 1934, the limpkin was treated as two species, one in South America (''Aramus guarauna'') and the other found in Central America, the Caribbean, and Florida (''Aramus pictus''). Today, it is treated as a single species with four subspecies. Along with the nominate subspecies ''A. g. guarauna'', ''A. g. dolosus'', ''A. g. elucus'' (both J. L. Peters, 1925), and ''A. g. pictus'' ( F. A. A. Meyer, 1794) are recognized. The difference between the subspecies are related to slight differences in size and plumage. * ''Aramus guarauna guarauna'' -
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
(except the arid west coast, the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
and extreme south) * ''Aramus guarauna pictus'' - Florida, Georgia,
The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...
,
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
* ''Aramus guarauna elucus'' -
Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...
and (formerly)
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
* ''Aramus guarauna dolosus'' - Southwestern
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
to
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...


Description

The limpkin is a somewhat large bird, long, with a wingspan of . Body mass ranges from , averaging . The males are slightly larger than the females in size, but no difference in
plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...
is seen. Its plumage is drab—dark brown with an olive luster above. The feathers of the head, neck, wing coverts, and much of the back and underparts (except the rear) are marked with white, making the body look streaked and the head and neck light gray. It has long, dark-gray legs and a long neck. Its bill is long, heavy, and downcurved, yellowish bill with a darker tip. The bill is slightly open near but not at the end to give it a tweezers-like action in removing snails from their shells, and in many individuals the tip curves slightly to the right, like the
apple snails Ampullariidae, whose members are commonly known as apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails that includes the mystery snail species. They are aquatic gastropod mollusks with a gill and an operculum. These snails simultaneously ha ...
' shells. The white markings are slightly less conspicuous in first-year birds. Its wings are broad and rounded and its tail is short. It is often confused with the immature
American white ibis The American white ibis (''Eudocimus albus'') is a species of bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is found from the southern half of the US East Coast (from southern New Jersey, Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia), along the Gulf C ...
. This bird is easier to hear than see. Its common vocalization is a loud wild wail or scream with some rattling quality, represented as "''kwEEEeeer'' or ''klAAAar''." This call is most often given at night and at dawn and dusk. Other calls include "wooden clicking", clucks, and in alarm, a "piercing ''bihk, bihk...''". Limpkin-2.jpg, Limpkin performing a wing-stretch Aramus guarauna-takes off.jpg, Taking off


Distribution and habitat

The limpkin occurs from peninsular Florida (and the
Okefenokee Swamp The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Ref ...
in southern
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
) and southern Mexico through the Caribbean and Central America to northern
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. In South America, it occurs widely east of the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
; west of them its range extends only to the Equator. It inhabits freshwater
marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
es and
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s, often with tall
reeds Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...
, as well as
mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
s. In the Caribbean, it also inhabits dry brushland. In Mexico and northern Central America, it occurs at altitudes up to . In Florida, the distribution of apple snails is the best predictor of where limpkins can be found. The limpkin undertakes some localized migrations, although the extent of these is not fully understood. In some parts in the northern part of the range, females (and a few males) leave the breeding areas at the end of summer, returning at the end of winter. In Brazil, birds breeding in some seasonal marshes leave during the dry season and return again with the rains. Birds may also migrate between Florida and Cuba, as several limpkins on the
Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...
and
Dry Tortugas Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park of the United States located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, in the United States. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the several Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most iso ...
have been reported, but these records may also represent
vagrants Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western countries, ...
or postbreeding dispersal. One study in Florida using wing tags found limpkins dispersed up to away from the breeding site. This tendency may explain vagrant limpkins seen in other parts of the United States and at sea near the Bahamas. Limpkins have recently expanded rapidly across Anglo-America, ostensibly due to the spread of apple snails and climate change.


Behavior and ecology

Limpkins are active during the day, but also forage at night. Where they are not persecuted, they are also very tame and approachable. Even so, they are usually found near cover. They are not aggressive for the most part, being unconcerned by other species and rarely fighting with members of their own species. Because of their long toes, they can stand on floating water plants. They also swim well, both as adults or as newly hatched chicks, but they seldom do so. They fly strongly, the neck projecting forward and the legs backward, the wings beating shallowly and stiffly, with a jerky upstroke, above the horizontal most of the time.


Feeding

Limpkins forage primarily in shallow water and on floating vegetation such as
water hyacinth ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive species, invasive outside its native rang ...
and
water lettuce ''Pistia'' is a genus of aquatic plants in the arum family, Araceae. It is the sole genus in the tribe ''Pistieae'' which reflects its systematic isolation within the family. The single species it comprises, ''Pistia stratiotes'', is often call ...
. When wading, they seldom go deeper than having half the body underwater, and never are submerged up to the back. They walk slowly with a gait described as "slightly undulating" and "giving the impression of lameness or limping", "high-stepping", or "strolling", looking for food if the water is clear or probing with the bill. They do not associate with other birds in
mixed-species feeding flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...
s, as do some other wading birds, but may forage in small groups with others of their species. The diet of the limpkin is dominated by apple snails (
Ampullariidae Ampullariidae, whose members are commonly known as apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails that includes the mystery snail species. They are aquatic gastropod mollusks with a gill and an operculum. These snails simultaneously h ...
) of the genus ''
Pomacea ''Pomacea'' is a genus of freshwater snails with gills and an Operculum (gastropod), operculum, Aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. The genus is native to the Americas; most species in this ge ...
''. The availability of this one
mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000  extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...
has a significant effect on the local distribution of the limpkin.
Freshwater mussel Freshwater bivalves are molluscs of the order Bivalvia that inhabit freshwater ecosystems. They are one of the two main groups of freshwater molluscs, along with freshwater snails. The majority of bivalve molluscs are saltwater species that l ...
s, including '' Anodonta cowperiana'', ''
Villosa vibex ''Villosa'' is a genus of freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve molluscs in the family Unionidae. Species Species within the genus ''Villosa'': * '' Villosa amygdala'' * '' Villosa arkansasensis'' - Ouachita creekshell * '' Villosa choctawensis ...
'', '' Elliptio strigosus'', ''E. jayensis'', and '' Uniomerus obesus'', as well as other kinds of snails, are a secondary food sources. Less important prey items are
insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s,
frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
s,
lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
s,
crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...
s (such as
crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...
) and
worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes. Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...
s, as well as
seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
s. These prey items may be important in periods of drought or flooding when birds may be pushed into less than optimal foraging areas. In one site in Florida, moon snails and mussels were the most important prey items. Two studies, both in Florida, have looked at the percentage composition of the diet of limpkins. One, looking at stomach contents, found 70% ''Pomacea'' apple snails, 3% '' Campeloma'', and 27% unidentified mollusc, probably ''Pomacea''. When a limpkin finds an apple snail, it carries it to land or very shallow water and places it in mud, the opening facing up. It deftly removes the operculum or "lid" and extracts the snail, seldom breaking the shell. The extraction takes 10 to 20 seconds. The orange-yellow yolk gland of female snails is usually shaken loose and not eaten. It often leaves piles of empty shells at favored spots.


Reproduction and breeding

Males have exclusive
territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
, which can vary in size from . In large, uniform swamps, nesting territories can often be clumped together, in the form of large
colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...
. These are vigorously defended, with males flying to the territory edges to challenge intruders and passing limpkins being chased out of the territory. Territorial displays between males at boundaries include ritualized charging and wing-flapping. Females may also participate in territorial defense, but usually only against other females or juveniles. Territories may be maintained year-round or abandoned temporarily during the nonbreeding season, usually due to lack of food. Limpkins may be either
monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...
, with females joining a male's territory, or serially polyandrous, with two or more females joining a male. With the monogamous pairs, banding studies have shown that a small number of pairs reform the following year (four out of 18 pairs). Nests may be built in a wide variety of places – on the ground, in dense floating vegetation, in bushes, or at any height in trees. They are bulky structures of rushes, sticks, or other materials. Nest building is undertaken by the male initially, which constructs the nest in his territory prior to pair-bond formation. Unpaired females visit a number of territories before settling on a male with which to breed. Males may initially challenge and fight off prospective mates, and may not accept first-year females as mates. Pair-bond formation may take a few weeks.
Courtship feeding Formally, a nuptial gift is a material presentation to a recipient by a donor during or in relation to sexual intercourse that is not simply gametes in order to improve the reproductive fitness of the donor. Often, such a gift will improve the fit ...
is part of the bonding process, where males catch and process a snail and then feed it to the female. The clutch consists of three to eight
eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...
, with five to seven being typical and averaging 5.5, which measure . The egg color is highly variable. Their background color ranges from gray-white through buff to deep olive, and they are marked with light-brown and sometimes purplish-gray blotches and speckles. The eggs are laid daily until the clutch is complete, and incubation is usually delayed until the clutch is completed. Both parents incubate the eggs during the day, but only the female incubates at night. The shift length is variable, but the male incubates for longer during the day. The male remains territorial during incubation, and leaves the clutch to chase off intruders; if this happens, the female returns quickly to the eggs. The incubation period is about 27 days, and all the eggs hatch within 24 hours of each other. The young hatch covered with down, capable of walking, running, and swimming. They follow their parents to a platform of aquatic vegetation, where they are brooded. They are fed by both parents; they reach adult size at 7 weeks and leave their parents at about 16 weeks.


Ecology

Limpkins are reported to be attacked and eaten by American alligators. Also, adults with serious foot and leg injuries have been reported, suggesting they may have been attacked by turtles while standing on floating vegetation. Their nests are apparently preyed upon by snakes,
raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...
s, crows, and muskrats. Foraging adults may in times of drought be victims of
kleptoparasitism Kleptoparasitism (originally spelt clepto-parasitism, meaning "parasitism by theft") is a form of feeding in which one animal deliberately takes food from another. The strategy is evolutionarily stable when stealing is less costly than direct f ...
by snail kites, and the attempted theft of apple snails caught by limpkins has also been observed in
boat-tailed grackle The boat-tailed grackle (''Quiscalus major'') is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found as a permanent resident on the coasts of the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. Habitat The boat-tailed grackle is found in coastal saltw ...
s. Limpkins in Florida were examined for parasites, which included
trematode Trematoda is a Class (biology), class of flatworms known as trematodes, and commonly as flukes. They are obligate parasite, obligate Endoparasites, internal parasites with a complex biological life cycle, life cycle requiring at least two Host ( ...
s,
nematode The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...
s, and biting
lice Louse (: lice) is the common name for any member of the infraorder Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera was previously recognized as an order, until a 2021 genetic study determined th ...
. Two biting lice species were found, '' Laemobothrion cubense'' and ''
Rallicola ''Rallicola'' is a genus of chewing louse. It is an ectoparasite of rails and other birds. It was named by Thomas Harvey Johnston and Launcelot Harrison in 1911. There are two subgenera aside from the nominotypical subgenus: ''Aptericola'', ...
funebris''. The trematode '' Prionosoma serratum'' was found in the intestines of some birds; this species may enter the bird after first infecting apple snails (this has been shown to be the route of infection for a closely related trematode to infect snail kites). Nematodes '' Amidostomum acutum'' and ''
Strongyloides ''Strongyloides'' (from Greek ''strongylos'', round, + ''eidos'', resemblance), anguillula, or threadworm is a genus of small nematode parasites, belonging to the family Strongylidae, commonly found in the small intestine of mammals (particular ...
'' spp. are also ingested and live in the gut.


Relationship with humans

Many of the limpkin's names across its range are
onomatopoeic Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...
and reflect the bird's call; for example, ''
carau The carau is a myth, commonly known in northeastern Argentine fables. Myth The ''carau'' is further referred to an old and sorrowful legend from the northeast of Argentina, fable about a young man whose mother suffers from a deadly disease. He ...
''in Argentina, ''carrao'' in Venezuela, and ''guareáo ''in Cuba. The species also has a range of common names that refer to its call, for example lamenting bird, or to its supposed gait, crippled bird. The limpkin does not feature much in folklore, although in the Amazon people believe that when the limpkin starts to call, the river will not rise any more. Its call has been used for jungle sound effects in
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...
films and for the
hippogriff The hippogriff ( Italian: ) or hippogryph is a legendary creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse. It was invented at the beginning of the 16th century by Ludovico Ariosto in his '' Orlando Furioso''. Within the poem, ...
in the film ''
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' ( ; also ) is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the third installment in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The novel follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third yea ...
''.


References


External links

*
Limpkin Bird Sound
at Florida Museum of Natural History * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q725276 Gruiformes Wading birds Native birds of the Southeastern United States Birds of the Americas Birds of the Dominican Republic Birds of Haiti Birds of the Guiana Shield Birds described in 1766 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus