Pacific limpkin (SciiFii)

The Pacific limpkin (Aramus californianus) is a species of large wading bird, most closely related to the Atlantic limpkin (Aramus guarauna), that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the tropical, subtropical, and temperate rainforests, wetlands, forests, and open woodlands across the Pacific regions of North America and Central America to help boost biodiversity. The Pacific limpkin is a somewhat large bird, 64–73 centimeters (25–29 inches) long, with a wingspan of 101–107 centimeters (40–42 inches). Body mass ranges from 900 to 1,300 grams (2.0 to 2.9 lbs), averaging 1,080 grams (2.38 lbs). The males are slightly larger than the females in size, but no difference in plumage is seen. Its plumage is drab—dark brown with an olive luster above. The feathers of the head, neck, wing coverts, and much of the back and underparts (except the rear) are marked with white, making the body look streaked and the head and neck light gray. It has long, dark-gray legs and a long neck. Its bill is long, heavy, and downcurved, yellowish bill with a darker tip. This bird is easier to hear than see. Its common vocalization is a loud wild wail or scream with some rattling quality, represented as "kwEEEeeer or klAAAar." This call is most often given at night and at dawn and dusk. Other calls include "wooden clicking", clucks, and in alarm, a piercing "bihk, bihk". Pacific limpkins are active during the day, but also forage at night. Where they are not persecuted, they are also very tame and approachable. Even so, they are usually found near cover. They are not aggressive for the most part, being unconcerned by other species and rarely fighting with members of their own species. Because of their long toes, they can stand on floating water plants. They also swim well, both as adults or as newly hatched chicks, but they seldom do so. They fly strongly, the neck projecting forward and the legs backward, the wings beating shallowly and stiffly, with a jerky upstroke, above the horizontal most of the time. Pacific limpkins forage primarily in shallow water and on floating vegetation such as the formerly-invasive water hyacinth and water lettuce. When wading, they seldom go deeper than having half the body underwater, and never are submerged up to the back. They walk slowly with a gait described as "slightly undulating" and "giving the impression of lameness or limping", "high-stepping", or "strolling", looking for food if the water is clear or probing with the bill. They do not associate with other birds in mixed-species feeding flocks, as do some other wading birds, but may forage in small groups with others of their species. The diet of the limpkin is dominated by snails. Freshwater mussels are a secondary food sources. Less important prey items are insects, frogs, lizards, crustaceans (such as crayfish) and worms, as well as seeds. These prey items may be important in periods of drought or flooding when birds may be pushed into less than optimal foraging areas. When a Pacific limpkin finds a snail, it carries it to dry land or very shallow water and places it in mud, the opening facing up. It deftly removes the operculum or "lid" and extracts the snail, seldom breaking the shell. The extraction takes 10 to 20 seconds. The yolk gland of female snails is usually shaken loose and not eaten. It often leaves piles of empty shells at favored spots. Males have exclusive territories, which can vary in size from 0.15 to 4.0 ha (0.37 to 9.88 acres). In large, uniform swamps, nesting territories can often be clumped together, in the form of large colonies. These are vigorously defended, with males flying to the territory edges to challenge intruders and passing Pacific limpkins being chased out of the territory. Territorial displays between males at boundaries include ritualized charging and wing-flapping. Females may also participate in territorial defense, but usually only against other females or juveniles. Territories may be maintained year-round or abandoned temporarily during the nonbreeding season, usually due to lack of food. Pacific limpkins may be either monogamous, with females joining a male's territory, or serially polyandrous, with two or more females joining a male. With the monogamous pairs, banding studies have shown that a small number of pairs reform the following year (four out of 18 pairs). Nests may be built in a wide variety of places – on the ground, in dense floating vegetation, in bushes, or at any height in trees. They are bulky structures of rushes, sticks, or other materials. Nest building is undertaken by the male initially, which constructs the nest in his territory prior to pair-bond formation. Unpaired females visit a number of territories before settling on a male with which to breed. Males may initially challenge and fight off prospective mates, and may not accept first-year females as mates. Pair-bond formation may take a few weeks. Courtship feeding is part of the bonding process, where males catch and process a snail and then feed it to the female. The clutch consists of three to nine eggs, with five to seven being typical and averaging 5.5, which measure 6.0 cm × 4.4 cm (2.4 inches × 1.7 inches). The egg color is highly variable. Their background color ranges from gray-white through buff to deep olive, and they are marked with light-brown and sometimes purplish-gray blotches and speckles. The eggs are laid daily until the clutch is complete, and incubation is usually delayed until the clutch is completed. Both parents incubate the eggs during the day, but only the female incubates at night. The shift length is variable, but the male incubates for longer during the day. The male remains territorial during incubation, and leaves the clutch to chase off intruders; if this happens, the female returns quickly to the eggs. The incubation period is about 27 days, and all the eggs hatch within 24 hours of each other. The young hatch covered with down, capable of walking, running, and swimming. They follow their parents to a platform of aquatic vegetation, where they are brooded. They are fed by both parents; they reach adult size at 7 weeks and leave their parents at about 16 weeks. The conservation status of the Pacific limpkin is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the Pacific limpkin's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.