limpkin

[limp-kin]

limp·kin

[limp-kin]
noun
a large, loud-voiced, wading bird, Aramus guarauna, intermediate in size and character between the cranes and the rails, of the warmer regions of America.

Origin:
1870–75, Americanism; limp1 + -kin; so called because of its jerky walk
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Limpkin is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Collins
World English Dictionary
limpkin (ˈlɪmpkɪn)
 
n
Also called: courlan a rail-like wading bird, Aramus guarauna, of tropical American marshes, having dark brown plumage with white markings and a wailing cry: order Gruiformes (cranes, rails, etc)
 
[C19: named from its awkward gait]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

limpkin

(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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