In the SACC proposal to resurrect Chubbia it states there is no reason why some snipe would not converge on “woodcockness”, and in fact there may be a continuum between the two groups in ecology and morphology. And, I favor resurrecting Chubbia because I think that the limited data so far puts the burden-of-proof on the position that merges it into Chubbia, especially because no explicit rationale was published for its merger into Gallinago. De Schauensee did not give a rational for the merger but in 1968 Jehl gave a good rational, I think. And it revolves around convergence.
R E L AT I O N S H I PS IN THE CHARADRII (SHOREBIRDS):
A TAXONOMIC STUDY BASED ON COLOR PATTERNS OF THE DOWNY YOUNG
Joseph Jehl Jr. SAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY MEMOIRS
Memoir 3, pages 1-54, figures 1-31,
Issued September 30, 1968
I follow De Schauensee (1966) in merging Chubbia with Gallinago. The idea of close affinity between Gallingo and Scolopax is of long standing. Adults of these genera are morphologically similar and several South American species of Gallinago (stricklandii.janies- oni, imperialis) that were formerly placed in Chubbia (Peters, 1934) seem to bridge the gap neatly between the longer-legged, slender snipe and the squat, robust woodcocks. Yet, chicks of
Scolopax and GalUnago are dissimilar. The close relationship of these genera is so widely accepted that the lack of similarity in their chicks may
indicate little more than the danger of relying on too few characters in determining relationships. Since snipe tend to nest in marshy areas and
woodcocks in forested regions, some differences in chick patterns might be predicted. However, in view of the similarity of downy patterns within
other wader subfamilies, it is somewhat disturbing to find that nowhere among the snipe and their allies are there downy patterns that even vaguely
approximate that of Scolopax. and, furthermore, that the variation in snipe and woodcock downy plumage is insufficient to give any clues to how one
plumage pattern could have been evolved from the other. This transformation is far more difficult to achieve than reference to the pattern diagrams
might suggest, for it requires extensive changes in color and feather structure as well as in pattern icf. Figs. 2 M, N; 16, 17). On the other hand, it requires little imagination to visualize the evolution of a
Scolopax pattern from that of a tringine sandpiper.
Although Scolopax and Gallinago can be pre- sumed to have arisen from a common ancestor, which may have been tringine, the great differences between their chicks suggest that these genera are more distantly related than is currently recognized. Pending a re-examination of these rela- tionships I suggest that a separate subfamily, Gallinagoninae, be established for the snipe and their allies. This separation has also been suggested by Verheyen (1958a) on the basis of osteological characters as well as chick plumages.
The chicks of species formerly assigned to Chubbia are typically snipelike. I interpret the similarities between the adults and Scolopax as convergent. These woodcock-like snipe occur only in South America, where the most extensive snipe radiation has taken place; woodcocks, in spite of their otherwise widespread distribution, are ab- sent from that continent.