The species of snail that the Limpkin was eating in Lewiston
Willie D'Anna
Hello birders!
Almost everyone who was able to watch the Limpkin this November in Lewiston, noted that it was eating a prodigious number of snails. You usually only had to wait a few seconds before you would see it probing into the ground, pulling out a snail, cracking it open, peeling off the shell, then throwing it down the hatch. I was told that this was not a native species of snail but unfortunately, after seeing so many people, I don’t remember who told me that.
It is well known that Limpkins are expanding their breeding range in the southeastern US, due to the presence of an invasive species of apple snail. However, that apple snail has not made it anywhere close to NYS, as far as I am aware. It is also much larger than the snails that the Limpkin was feeding on in Lewiston.
If anyone knows anything about the snails that the Lewiston Limpkin was feeding on, I would appreciate hearing from you. If you can provide a published reference or let me know where your information is from, that would be great. This could be used in an article I am currently writing.
There are several photos of the bird with a snail. You can look through all of the photos of this bird on eBird: https://media.ebird.org/catalog?taxonCode=limpki®ionCode=US-NY-063
Some nice ones with a snail are in this checklist from Karen Lee Lewis: https://ebird.org/checklist/S122604545 Here is another from Brian Morse: https://ebird.org/checklist/S122609092 There is a nice close-up of the snail in this checklist from Alan Bloom: https://ebird.org/checklist/S122570469 Another close-up here, from Tim Healy: https://ebird.org/checklist/S122510990 One from Kyle Gage: https://ebird.org/checklist/S122518905 From Joel Farwell: https://ebird.org/checklist/S122507081
Thanks, and good birding!
Willie
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Willie D'Anna
Wilson, NY
dannapotterATroadrunnerDOTcom
Andy Guthrie
Looks like the White-lipped Snail, Cepaea hortensis: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51039-Cepaea-hortensis
Alemap10
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Willie D'Anna
Thank-you to everyone who responded to my request for information about the species of snail that the Lewiston Limpkin was feeding upon. I had numerous private responses, in addition to those that were posted to these email lists. The confirmation on iNaturalist, as well as responses from others, including two highly regarded experts, show a strong consensus for Cepaea nemoralis, the brown-lipped snail, or grove snail. This is a non-native species of land snail that is native to Western Europe.
Thanks again for the informative responses, as well as the great suggestions for how to obtain answers to my question.
Good birding!
Willie
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David Norton
Hi, I am fascinated with this sighting. This begs the question of how two different non-native species ended up in Western NY, both the Limpkin and the brown-lipped snail? Any thoughts? Happy Holidays, Dave
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David Norton
Hi, Can anyone identify this bird? Thank you if you can. Dave
From: David Norton [mailto:drno...@rochester.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 7, 2022 10:56 AM
To: 'Willie D'Anna' <danna...@roadrunner.com>; 'geneseebirds' <genesee...@geneseo.edu>; 'Geneseebirds' <geneseebirds...@geneseo.edu>; 'NYSBirds' <nysbi...@cornell.edu>
Subject: RE: [GeneseeBirds-L] The species of snail that the Limpkin was eating in Lewiston
Hi, I am fascinated with this sighting. This begs the question of how two different non-native species ended up in Western NY, both the Limpkin and the brown-lipped snail? Any thoughts? Happy Holidays, Dave
From: genesee...@geneseo.edu [mailto:genesee...@geneseo.edu] On Behalf Of Willie D'Anna
Sent: Wednesday, December 7, 2022 9:26 AM
To: 'geneseebirds' <genesee...@geneseo.edu>; 'Geneseebirds' <geneseebirds...@geneseo.edu>; 'NYSBirds' <nysbi...@cornell.edu>
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/geneseo.edu/d/msgid/geneseebirds-l/003201d90a47%24d7600410%2486200c30%24%40com.
Lynn A. Braband
Red-tailed Hawk
____________________________________________
Lynn Braband
Senior Extension Associate Emeritus
NYS IPM Program of Cornell University
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