- Gallinago gallinago
Identification
Brown back with creamy stripes. Striped head with cream central stripe. White belly, barred flanks. Long bill.
Distribution
Breeds in northern Palearctic; winter in southern Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Taxonomy
Formerly contained Wilson's Snipe (delicata), now recognized as a full species.
Subspecies1
- G. g. faeroeensis - breeds in Iceland, Faeroe Is., Orkney Is. and Sheltand Is.; winters to British Isles
- G. g. gallinago - protected by the AEWA2; breeds in N Palearctic and Aleutian Is.; winters to Africa, India, Indonesia
Habitat
The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows in Iceland, the Faroes, northern Europe and Russia. Common Snipe nest in a well-hidden location on the ground.
Behaviour
This well camouflaged bird is usually shy and conceals itself close to ground vegetation and flushes only when approached closely. They fly off in a series of aerial zig-zags to confuse predators. Snipe hunters, therefore, needed to be very skilled to hunt these birds and they came to be called snipers - a term later adopted by the military.
The song has been described as "Chipper Chipper."
Bird Song
<flashmp3>Gallinago gallinago (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Reference
- Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.
External Links
- A thread describing the differences between this species and Wilson's Snipe is found [here]