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courlan

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cour⋅lan

[koor-luhn]
–noun
the limpkin.

Origin:
< F courlan < Carib; akin to Galibi kurliri
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cour·lan   (kŏŏr'lən)   
n.  See limpkin.

[French, perhaps alteration of courliri, from Galibi kurliri.]
limp·kin   (lĭmp'kĭn)   
n.  A large brownish wading bird (Aramus guarauna) of warm, swampy regions of the New World, having long legs, a drooping bill, and a distinctive wailing call. Also called courlan.

[From its gait.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

courlan

(species Aramus guarauna), large swamp bird of the American tropics, sole member of the family Aramidae (order Gruiformes). The bird is about 70 cm (28 inches) long and is coloured brown with white spots. The limpkin's most distinctive characteristics are its loud, prolonged, wailing cry and its peculiar halting gait. The species ranges the lowlands from the southeastern United States, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola south to central Argentina

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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