top of page

Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Cranes, Rails, and Allies (Order Gruiformes)

-Limpkins (Family Aramidae)

-Limpkins (Genus Aramus)

-Limpkin (Aramus guarauna)


The Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) is a distinctive, medium-large wading bird best known for its loud, haunting calls and its close association with freshwater wetlands. About 65–73 cm (25–29 in) long, it has a slender body, long legs, and a slightly downcurved bill specially adapted for extracting apple snails, its primary food. The plumage is dark brown to olive-brown, heavily marked with bold white spots and streaks on the neck, back, and wings, giving the bird a mottled appearance that blends well with marsh vegetation. Limpkins are most often found along marshes, swamps, lakes, slow rivers, and canals, where they walk deliberately along shorelines or wade in shallow water, probing for snails and other aquatic invertebrates.

Limpkin

Aramus guarauna

Diet

  • Primarily apple snails (Pomacea spp.), which it extracts from their shells using its long, slightly curved bill.

  • Also feeds on freshwater mussels, clams, crayfish, crabs, aquatic insects, frogs, small fish, and other aquatic invertebrates.

  • Usually forages slowly while walking through shallow water, marshes, and along wetland edges.

Range

  • Found from Florida and southern Georgia through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America to northern Argentina.

  • In Mexico, it occurs along both the Pacific and Gulf coastal lowlands, including the Zihuatanejo region, wherever suitable wetlands are present.

  • Inhabits freshwater marshes, swamps, lakes, rivers, flooded fields, mangroves, lagoons, and other wetlands with abundant aquatic snails.

  • Generally a year-round resident, although local movements occur in response to changing water levels.

Male / Female

  • Male: Slightly larger and heavier but otherwise nearly identical to the female, with brown plumage heavily streaked with white and a long, slightly decurved bill.

  • Female: Very similar in appearance, usually slightly smaller.

  • Sexes cannot be reliably distinguished in the field by plumage alone.

Size

  • Length: 64–73 cm (25–29 in)

  • Wingspan: 101–107 cm (40–42 in)

  • Weight: 0.9–1.3 kg (2.0–2.9 lb)

bottom of page