Snipe or Jack Snipe (1 Viewer)

[Pluvius]

It looked smaller than a snipe my dog flushed it. It went off horizontally no sound and pitched 200 yards away before flying away low again.

 

[rokermartin]

Its a Snipe bill is to long for Jack

 

[J Moss]

Bill looks short enough.

 

[J Moss]

lol, oh well! Sorry to contradict Rokerman!

Would also say that the pale underwing is pro Jack Snipe.

 

[MSA]

Behaviour is good indicator of Jack Snipe as well.

 

[wolfbirder]

jack snipe for me.

 

[Steve Waite]

You did well to get such a clear photo of it!!!!

 

[Ronayne88]

Jack snipe usually flush at the very last moment, make little or no noise as opposed to the screech of a snipe and usually fly in a straight non zig zagging line. Normally fly only a few feet before hovering back down into position nearby.

 

[Colin Key]

At the moment I am seeing dozens of Common Snipe and one or two Jack Snipe every morning, and it is also my dog which flushes them, but I would be very reluctant to "call" this bird. There is something a bit "wrong" about the underwing pattern.

Brill shot, though.

Colin

 

[dbradnum]

Colin - out of interest, do the Jacks behave similarly to a dog flushing them as they do to a human? i.e. only taking flight when the dog's practically on top of them?

 

[Pluvius]

In my case the dog was at heel and it flushed right at our feet whereas generally I find snipe get up a few yards before you get there.Also they tend to alarm call as they go.

 

[dbradnum]

In my case the dog was at heel and it flushed right at our feet whereas generally I find snipe get up a few yards before you get there.Also they tend to alarm call as they go.

That really does sound like a Jack... the behaviour (distance when flushed, flightpath, call or lack thereof) isn't quite diagnostic, but it's pretty damn close!

 

[jforgham]

Sounds like Jack snipe to me by beahviour etc but woodcock anyone? High angular forehead with pot belly. Over exposed pic maybe hence no barring visible on wing pattern chest. Bill length also looks good. Just a quick thought with little time. Consequently probably missed the bleedin' obvious.
Regards,
Jono

 

[Colin Key]

Colin - out of interest, do the Jacks behave similarly to a dog flushing them as they do to a human? i.e. only taking flight when the dog's practically on top of them?

Sorry, just seen this David (didn't have email notification turned on).

Yes, Jack Snipe react in exactly the same way to a dog as to a human (or sheep and cattle) in that you are almost on them before they flush, and are always silent.

Strange thing is that my dog (a Border Collie cross) can detect Quail at 30 metres or more by scent and will then circle the area, getting ever closer, and eventually "pointing" at the bird with her tail up and nose down. She totally ignores Snipe and seems as surprised as me when they flush.

Colin

 

[Colin Key]

Sounds like Jack snipe to me by beahviour etc but woodcock anyone? High angular forehead with pot belly. Over exposed pic maybe hence no barring visible on wing pattern chest. Bill length also looks good. Just a quick thought with little time. Consequently probably missed the bleedin' obvious.
Regards,
Jono

On a second look Jono I might make an each-way bet on Woodcock, except Pluvius said it looked smaller than a Snipe whereas Woodcock look enormous if you get anywhere near them.

Colin

 

[dantheman]

Strange thing is that my dog (a Border Collie cross) can detect Quail at 30 metres or more by scent and will then circle the area, getting ever closer, and eventually "pointing" at the bird with her tail up and nose down. She totally ignores Snipe and seems as surprised as me when they flush.

Interesting, your assumption it's scent? Just an idea, maybe quail constantly make contact calls (inaudible to the human ear), which the dog picks up on.

Wouldn't have thought quail were that much smellier, but is there any considerations/ research into olfactory 'camouflage' or suppression- eg Snipe could be that much more evolutionary evolved in terms of supressing scents which can be used by predators, whereas the Quail are basically sending out-'I'm here signals' in the olfactory sense.
The flip side being that the dog's nose is keyed into gamebird and Quail-type scents- maybe this is it!

 

[lostinjapan]

The behaviour sounds good for Jack Snipe, only flushed when right on top of it.

Also the bird in the pic looks good..pale underwing, broad white trailing edge on the secondaries, pale patterning on the face and relatively unstreaked sides and the bill sure looks short enough.

Another good indicator as well as the lack of call..(Jack are usually silent when flushed but can make a short 'ko' sound) is how far the bird flies. Jack tend to not go up too high and pitch down again fairly quickly, while Common Snie will often go quite high, twisting and turning, before pitching down quite far off.

What kind of habitat was it in?

 

[marklhawkes]

Sounds like Jack snipe to me by beahviour etc but woodcock anyone? High angular forehead with pot belly. Over exposed pic maybe hence no barring visible on wing pattern chest. Bill length also looks good. Just a quick thought with little time. Consequently probably missed the bleedin' obvious.
Regards,
Jono

It's not a Woodcock. Wrong facial pattern and structure, and they have dark underwings.

 

[Colin Key]

Interesting, your assumption it's scent? Just an idea, maybe quail constantly make contact calls (inaudible to the human ear), which the dog picks up on.

Wouldn't have thought quail were that much smellier, but is there any considerations/ research into olfactory 'camouflage' or suppression- eg Snipe could be that much more evolutionary evolved in terms of supressing scents which can be used by predators, whereas the Quail are basically sending out-'I'm here signals' in the olfactory sense.
The flip side being that the dog's nose is keyed into gamebird and Quail-type scents- maybe this is it!

I was assuming it was scent rather than sound because of the way my dog initially puts her nose in the air and is obviously "sniffing".

Colin

 

[godoenov]

Hi, it's a Jack Snipe, although bill looks a bit longish for Jack Snipe (but shortish for Common Snipe).
Don't be fooled by the behaviour thing, it should not play part in deciding between Jack and Common Snipe. Jack Snipe not rarely calls when flying away (however, it sounds a bit different to the Common Snipe call) and Common Snipe not rarely remains silent. In early spring, Jack Snipes tend to be way more nervous, whilst Common Snipes are less easily disturbed, and stay hidden for a longer time.