Limpkin
Summer:
R
Fall:
R
A large wading bird walks in the shallow waters, can be seen looking for snails and mussels. In appearance, they can look like a cross between a crane and rail. Their plumage is brown with white streaks and speckles. Limpkins have specialized bills that allow them to cut snails out from their shells without breaking it. At night or dawn when it awakes in the early morning, loud wails fill the air. Limpkins are not year-round residents here at the Chicago Botanic Garden and it is very rare to see one in Illinois. They are residents of Florida, Georgia, Caribbean and South America. This is the first sighting of the Limpkin at the Chicago Botanic Garden
Key:
Detectability
Regular (expected annually; defined as the average number of individual birds per birding day, week, or month expected by an experienced observer under normal circumstances in the proper habitat at the optimum time of season):
P= Permanent Residents (although wild birds are possible; look for clipped wing)
AB = Abundant (30+ per day)
VC = Very Common (10-30 per day)
C= Common (3-10 per day)
FC = Fairly Common (1-3 per day)
U = Uncommon (2 per week to 1 per day)
VU = Very Uncommon (3 per month to 2 per week)
R = Rare (1-3 per month)
Irregular (absent some years; defined as an average of one record by all observers in the stated number of years):
O = Occasional (1-3 years)
CA = Casual (3-11 years)
AC = Accidental (11+ years)
Designations for winter water birds are based on periods when lakes are mostly icefree.
Breeding
(***) Confirmed
(**) Probable
(*) Possible
(~) Captive birds
Seasons
Spring (March 6 - June 5)
Summer (June 6 - August 15)
Fall (August 16 - November 30)
Winter (December 1 - March 5)