Limpkin

Aramus guarauna

Carrao

Audio (M. Oberle)

IDENTIFICATION: A tall, brown, heron-like bird with white streaks on the head, neck and upper body. Length: 56-71 cm.; weight: 900-1,300 g.

VOICE: A loud scream that resembles its Spanish name. Audio (M. Oberle).

HABITAT: Freshwater rivers and swamps; mangroves.

HABITS: This species wades in shallow water by day or night, looking for its favorite food: apple snails (Pomacea). Will also eat other molluscs and some frogs and lizards. Females lay 5-7 eggs. Both sexes share incubation duties for 26-28 days. Eggs hatch within 24 hours of each other, and the young are led by the parents to special brooding platforms. They are fed by the parents until six to seven weeks of age.

STATUS AND CONSERVATION: Previously bred in Puerto Rico and thought to be extirpated due to hunting, habitat destruction, and introduced predators. However several reports in the 1990s have revived hope that this species may either visit Puerto Rico from elsewhere, or might still breed in secluded swamps. With the recovery of forest cover in the 20^th Century, this species may become reestablished. Any observations of this species should be reported.

RANGE: Breeds in Florida, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina.

TAXONOMY: GRUIFORMES; ARAMIDAE

References

Bent, A.C. 1926. Life histories of North American marsh birds. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 135. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1963).

Bryan, D. C. 2002. Limpkin (Aramus guarauna). No. 627 in The Birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1996. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 3. Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Ehrlich, P.R., D.S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birderÆs handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster/ Fireside, NY.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Limpkin, Spanish text

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