Limpkin
The eggs of the non-native, invasive Apple Snail
These birds were once more common in Florida, but due to the decline in their primary food source, the Florida Apple Snail, their populations decreased. However, the Limpkins have adapted to eating the larger non-native Apple Snails and the Limpkin population has significantly increased.
Limpkins are the only species in its family but they are considered be most closely related to rails and cranes.,
The Limpkin’s bill is uniquely adapted to foraging on apple snails. The closed bill has a gap just before the tip that makes the bill act like tweezers. The tip itself is often curved slightly to the right so it can be slipped into the right-handed chamber of the snail.
A group of Limpkins is known as a “hobbling” of Limpkins
Florida is the northern limit of its rather extensive breeding range.
The Simpkin is named for its limping-like flight with its dangling legs and jerky wing beats.
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