Common Snipe - BirdForum Opus

Photo by IanF
Dormans Pool, Billingham, UK, September 2003

Gallinago gallinago

Identification

• Brown back with creamy stripes
• Striped head with cream central stripe
• White belly
• Barred flanks
• Long bill

Similar Species

Ssp. gallinago
Photo by Alok Tewari
Gurgaon, Haryana, India, March-2015

Wilson's Snipe³. The much smaller Jack Snipe.

Distribution

Breeds in northern Palearctic; winters in southern Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Taxonomy

Formerly contained Wilson's Snipe (delicata), now recognized as a full species.

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies¹:

• G. g. faeroeensis - breeds in Iceland, Faroe Islands, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands; winters to British Isles
• G. g. gallinago - protected by AEWA²; breeds in N Palearctic and Aleutian Islands; winters to Africa, India, Indonesia

Habitat

They breed in marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows.

Behaviour

'Drumming'
Photo by Robert L Jarvis
Teesdale, Yorkshire, April 2010

The cryptic plumage makes them difficult to see amongst the vegetation. When disturbed, they fly off in a series of zig-zags.

Breeding

The nest is well concealed on the ground.

Vocalisation

The song has been described as "Chip..per Chip..per."
Breeding display produces a drumming sound <flashmp3>Gallinago gallinago (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

Photo by Copout
Barton, Lincolnshire, February 2009

Reference

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.
3. A thread describing the differences between this species and Wilson's Snipe is found [here]
4. Wikipedia
5. Nation master

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Common Snipe. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Common_Snipe

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