The Limpkin's english name evokes its awkward way of walking, with a gait described as "slightly undulating" and "giving the impression of lameness or limping". The Limpkin looks like a large rail but is skeletally closer to cranes. It has been confused with a young night-heron (which has a straight rather than a slightly down-curved bill) or an immature White Ibis. It is found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the America from Florida to northern Argentina. It feeds on mollusks, with the diet dominated by apple snails of the genus Pomacea (Ampullariidae). The availability of this mollusk has a significant effect on the local distribution of the Limpkin. When a Limpkin finds an apple snail, it carries it to land or very shallow water and places it in mud, the opening facing up. It deftly removes the "lid" and extracts the snail. The extraction takes 10 to 20 seconds. Limpkins are reported to be attacked and eaten by American Alligators. Their nests are apparently predated by snakes, racoons, crows and muskrats.

Limpkin