Alternative name: Ethiopian Snipe
- Gallinago nigripennis
Identification
30-32 cm. Upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with bold dark brown stripes and gold edges to the feathers forming lines down its back, white belly is white, some brown barring on the flanks, long pinkish-brown bill, yellowish-olive to greenish-grey legs and feet. Sexes similar. Immatures show pale fringes on the wing coverts.
Distribution
Locally in highlands of eastern and southern Africa.
Taxonomy
Subspecies1
- G. n. aequatorialis - Ethiopia to e Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique
- G. n. angolensis - Angola and Namibia to Zambia and w Zimbabwe
- G. n. nigripennis - S Mozambique and South Africa
Habitat
Wet mountain moorland and swamps.
Behaviour
It builds a saucer-shaped nest of dry grass in the drier areas of marshes, concealed in a dense tuft of grass or rushes.
It forages by pushing its long bill deep into the mud seeking insects and worms.
References
- Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
