Sandpipers · Shorebirds
Common Snipe
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Gallinago gallinago
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Voice
Song
Hermann Josef Eckl
Call
Sonothèque ADVL
Alarm
Sonothèque ADVL
How to recognize it
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25–27 cm, like a great spotted woodpecker
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Very long, straight dark bill
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Mottled brown above, pale below
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Flushed flight in zigzags, sharp "scape-scape" call
About the species
The Common Snipe looks plain at first glance and melts into wet grass and muddy ground. Its long straight bill and mottled brown plumage are the easiest things to keep in mind.
It is shy, quiet, and usually stays close to low cover, lifting off only when approached very closely. In courtship, the male circles high, then drops in steep dives and makes its odd drumming sound with the tail feathers.
It uses marshes, bogs, wet meadows, muddy shores, and tundra. It feeds by probing soft mud for insects and earthworms, with some plant material too, and many northern populations move south for winter.
Where to find
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Along muddy pond edges and canal banks — in patches with tussocks and wet grass, where Common Snipe probes the soft silt and may burst up with a sharp call in a zigzag flight.
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At the margins of soggy meadows and marshy vacant lots — where the ground feels spongy, and at dusk a low bleating display can carry over the grass.
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On reedy shorelines of city lakes and slow streams — especially at the very edge of shallow water, standing still before picking worms and insects from the mud.
You might also see
Sources
- eBird — Gallinago gallinago Sightings map and full description on eBird
- Wikipedia — Common snipe Encyclopedia article