limpkin

limp·kin

L0176600 (lĭmp′kĭn)n. A large brownish wading bird (Aramus guarauna) of warm, swampy regions of Florida, the Caribbean islands, and Central and South America, having long legs, a curved bill, and a distinctive wailing call. Also called courlan.

[From its halting gait.]

limpkin

(ˈlɪmpkɪn) n (Animals) a rail-like wading bird, Aramus guarauna, of tropical American marshes, having dark brown plumage with white markings and a wailing cry: order Gruiformes (cranes, rails, etc). Also called: courlan [C19: named from its awkward gait]

limp•kin

(ˈlɪmp kɪn)

n. a large, loud-voiced wading bird, Aramus guarauna, of warmer regions of the New World. [1870–75, Amer.; appar. limp¹ + -kin, from its jerky walk]

Thesaurus

Noun

limpkin - wading bird of Florida, Cuba and Jamaica having a drooping bill and a distinctive wailing callAramus pictuswader, wading bird - any of many long-legged birds that wade in water in search of foodGruiformes, order Gruiformes - inland marsh-dwelling birds with long legs and necks and bills that wade in water in search of food: cranes; rails; bustards

Translations

limpkin

courlan

(ko͝or`lən), common terms for a long-legged, nonmigratory marsh bird, considered the connecting evolutionary link between the crane and the rail. They have a cranelike skeletal structure, but their digestive system, as well as their nesting habits and behavior, is raillike. There is only one species, Aramus quarauna, which is divided into 5 subspecies, some found exclusively in South America and the others found from South Carolina and Florida to Argentina. Limpkins are large (28 in./70 cm) grayish-brown birds that feed on freshwater snails and mollusks. Their name derives from their limping flight, with legs dangling and wingbeats jerky; although weak and infrequent fliers they are good swimmers. Limpkins roost in trees and nest in marsh grass or low bushes. They lay four to eight eggs per clutch with both male and female incubating the young. They are noisy birds; their sad call gives them the name "crying bird." Because limpkins were considered good food birds, they were almost wiped out in Florida and Georgia. Today, they are protected and are regaining their former abundance. Limpkins are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Gruiformes, family Aramidae.

limpkin

limp·kin

limpkin

limp•kin

limpkin

limpkin

courlan

limpkin

Synonyms for limpkin

noun wading bird of Florida, Cuba and Jamaica having a drooping bill and a distinctive wailing call

Synonyms

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