Limpkin with Apple Snail

[Ira Runyan]

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
"The Limpkin Aramus guarauna, feeds almost exclusively on apple snails, which it extracts from their shells with its long bill. 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. Searches visually for snails in clear water, or by jabbing or sweeping with bill. It turns the snail shell opening upward, cuts through the muscle attachment, and pulls out the snail. Extraction takes about 10 to 20 seconds; the shell is rarely broken."

Yesterday, I watched a Limpkin for a considerable time capturing apple snails. It would search along the stems of underwater plants until it found a snail, then it would wade to the shore and lay the snail on the ground, extract the meat from the shell, only to return to the water and repeat the whole process again.

[retroactiv]

Interesting bird. Nice sharp images to go along with good background.

[Martin Brazil]

Interesting post Ira. I have seen Limpkins here in Brazil but they are quite nervous and so far I have been unable to get any decent shots of them. Your pictures are really beautiful and I am guessing you were using quite a long zoom to catch them.
What is very interesting for me is that I have seen lots of intact snail shells in several places at a specific location beside a canal and wondered about them. I think there is a strong chance that they are the remains of a Limpkins breakfast so I plan to stake the place out early one morning to see if I cant get some shots.
Thanks for the wonderful pictures and the interesting information Ira.

[OldClicker]

Excellent set of photos. Seems like a very fragile ecological niche to have one food source. - TF