Limpkin, Aramus guarauna
Bill Rowe
Why is a Limpkin—a bird of Florida swamps, according to the field guides—our Bird of the Week, and why now, when the warm season is winding down? Simply because this species is basically the Bird of the Year in Missouri, and its record-setting occurrence this year may not be over yet. But let’s back up: The Limpkin is an odd, rather large wading bird that feeds mainly on snails. It is a single species, related to cranes and rails but so different that it is placed by itself in a separate family, Aramidae (there are, however, fossils of other species in that family, now extinct). Until recently, its broad range extended from Argentina north just to Florida, where it specialized happily on Florida Apple Snails, and where you had to go if you wanted to see one of these birds in the U.S. In just the past few years, however, thanks at least in part to the spread of the invasive Giant Apple Snail, Limpkins have spread rapidly to other parts of the south (they are now common in southern Louisiana) and have shown up as vagrants all over the eastern United States; see the purple blocks on the eBird maps below, showing roughly where Limpkins were recorded in three recent years, through 2022. Here in Missouri, the first one ever was seen this year on May 5 in St. Clair County, followed by a rapid-fire series of observations of nine additional birds in nine other counties, nowhere close to each other; thus our state alone has gone from zero to ten records in the space of four months—which is unprecedented for a new bird that had never been found here before. Many other eastern states have had similar experiences, and we are all waiting to see what happens in 2023!
IDENTIFICATION: There is really nothing like a Limpkin: a long-legged wading bird about as large as a medium-sized heron, basically all brown but heavily streaked and spotted with white, with a long, sword-like, slightly decurved bill. In its normal habitat it makes loud wailing cries at night; it’s not clear whether our visiting birds have done that.
ST. LOUIS STATUS: So far, the St. Louis area has participated twice in the Limpkin bonanza: One was seen and photographed by a single observer at Horseshoe Lake State Park on the Illinois side, May 23, and another was seen and photographed by a whole host of people at the Missouri Botanical Garden, September 4-5. As long as the weather remains warm, and then starting again next spring, keep your eyes peeled: this bird could show up anywhere. If you see one, please photograph it and send us the report.
Learn more and listen to the calls of Limpkins here.
The following eBird images show Limpkin records.
