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Common Snipe - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 11:13, 16 May 2019 by Jmorlan (talk | contribs) (→‎Reference: Updated and expanded.)
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Photo by IanF
Dormans Pool, Billingham, UK, September 2003
Gallinago gallinago

Identification

25–27 cm (9¾-10¾ in)

  • 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

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

There are 2 subspecies1:

Habitat

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

Behaviour

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

Photo by Copout
Barton, Lincolnshire, February 2009

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

Reference

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.
  3. Thread describing the differences between this species and Wilson's Snipe.
  4. Wikipedia contributors. (2019, March 10). Common snipe. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:05, May 16, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_snipe&oldid=887102985
  5. Nation master
  6. Chandler, R. (2009). Shorebirds of North America, Europe, and Asia: A photographic guide. Princeton.
  7. Howell, S.N.G., Lewington, I. & Russell, W. (2014) Rare Birds of North America. Princeton Univ. Press
  8. Mccleese, C. 2018. "Gallinago gallinago" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 19, 2019 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Gallinago_gallinago/
  9. Rasmussen, P.C. & Anderton, J.C. (2005) Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Vols. 1 and 2. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions, Washington, D.C. & Barcelona.
  10. Van Gils, J., Wiersma, P., Kirwan, G.M. & Sharpe, C.J. (2019). Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/53878 on 19 April 2019).

Recommended Citation

External Links


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