Limpkin | Aramidae

Koerlan | Carrao

A family of a single species, the Limpkin, found in Mexico mainly along the Gulf coast and on the Yucatán Peninsula and more widely through Central America, in freshwater marshes, flooded forest, riverbanks and mangroves. It is a large, long-legged bird intermediate in build between cranes and rails, dark brown with white streaks on the head, neck and mantle. The long, slightly decurved bill is laterally compressed, and near the tip the mandibles do not quite meet and the lower one is slightly twisted; with it the bird extracts apple snails from their shells without breaking them. These snails are the staple food, supplemented by freshwater mussels, crayfish, worms and insects. It walks with a rather limping gait through shallow water and flies with slow, jerky wingbeats and dangling legs. The voice is a loud, wailing, repeated scream that carries far across the marsh, especially at dusk and at night. The nest is a platform of plant material in dense vegetation just above the water or in a shrub, usually holding four to seven spotted eggs; the young leave the nest soon after hatching.