Limpkin
Aramus guarauna (Linnaeus, 1766)
The limpkin (Aramus guarauna) is a species in the family Aramidae, order Gruiformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.05 kg to 1.09 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the limpkin
- Weight
- 1.05 kg – 1.09 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.75src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the limpkin live?
Not recorded
What is the limpkin?
The limpkin (Aramus guarauna) is a large wading bird related to rails and cranes, and the only extant species in the family Aramidae. It is found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the Americas, from Florida to northern Argentina, but individuals have been reported as far north as Wisconsin, and Southern Ontario. It feeds on molluscs, with the diet dominated by apple snails of the genus Pomacea. Its name derives from its seeming limp when it walks. It has also been called "carrao", "courlan", and "crying bird".
From the Wikipedia article “Limpkin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Limpkin&oldid=1380691189), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the limpkin endangered?
The limpkin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the limpkin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGruiformes
- familyAramidae
- genusAramus
- SpeciesAramus guarauna (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Aramus carau, Aramus giganteus, Aramus guatauna, Aramus pictus, Aramus scolopaceus, Aramus vociferus, Rallus scolopaceus, Scolopax guarauna, Scopolax guarauna
Other names and names in other languages (41)
- CourlanEnglish
- Crying birdEnglish
- Scolopaceous courlanEnglish
- رطاسArabic
- طير البكاءArabic
- KourlanBreton
- carrauCatalan
- kurlan chřástalovitýCzech
- herciwrWelsh
- RiksetraneDanish
- RallenkranichGerman
- rala aramoEsperanto
- CaraoSpanish
- CarauSpanish
- CarraoSpanish
- ruikkurgEstonian
- kotilokurkiFinnish
- Courlan brunFrench
- KarâuGuarani
- ReleHaitian Creole
- čapljolikaCroatian
- óriásguvatHungarian
- aramoItalian
- ツルモドキJapanese
- AramaLithuanian
- aramasLithuanian
- klibiķisLatvian
- koerlanDutch
- GaraoPapiamento
- bekaśnicaPolish
- carãoPortuguese
- SaracurãoPortuguese
- АрамаRussian
- Арама (птица)Russian
- kurlan chriaštelíSlovak
- GuaraunaSerbian
- ralltranaSwedish
- TopalcaTurkish
- TurnayelvesiTurkish
- 秧鶴Chinese
- 秧鹤Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the limpkin
Other species in the same order Gruiformes.
Eurasian coot
Fulica atra
Common crane
Grus grus
Common moorhen
Gallinula chloropus
Corn crake
Crex crex
Water rail
Rallus aquaticus
Spotted crake
Porzana porzana
CompareLimpkin vs Eurasian cootLimpkin vs Common craneLimpkin vs Common moorhenLimpkin vs Corn crake
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the limpkin?
An adult limpkin weighs 1.05 kg – 1.09 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the limpkin endangered?
The limpkin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the limpkin?
The limpkin (Aramus guarauna) belongs to the family Aramidae in the order Gruiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Limpkin (Aramus guarauna). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/limpkin
“Limpkin (Aramus guarauna).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/limpkin.
@misc{limpkin_2026,
title = {Limpkin (Aramus guarauna)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/limpkin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}