---
title: "Koerlan"
description: "Aramus guarauna — Vogels. The limpkin (Aramus guarauna) is a large wading bird related to rails and cranes, and the only extant species in the family Aramidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/limpkin
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Koerlan

> Aramus guarauna — Vogels. The limpkin (Aramus guarauna) is a large wading bird related to rails and cranes, and the only extant species in the family Aramidae.

- Scientific name: *Aramus guarauna*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Meren en rivieren)
- iNaturalist observations: 29923
- Wikidata: [Q725276](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q725276)
- iNaturalist taxon: [7](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7)

## Names

- en: Limpkin
- de: Rallenkranich
- es: Carrao
- fr: Courlan brun
- nl: Koerlan
- pt: Carão
- pl: Bekaśnica

## Countries with the most observations

US (18223), AR (3327), BR (2461), MX (1790), BO (489), CO (474), EC (281), BZ (253), CR (251), PE (166), NI (160), HN (152)

## Summary

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".

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpkin

## Photo

![Koerlan](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/limpkin/medium.jpg)

Photo: Michael W Belitz · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/62260367

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/limpkin?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).