Sandpipers · Shorebirds
Jack Snipe
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Lymnocryptes minimus
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Voice
Call
How to recognize it
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17–19 cm, smaller than a snipe
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Short straight bill
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Brown-black back with yellow lengthwise stripes
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Dark stripe on the crown; flight quick and jerky
About the species
Jack Snipe keeps low in marshy cover and often looks more hidden than present. It is much smaller than a Common Snipe, with a short bill and a habit of bobbing up and down while it feeds.
When disturbed, it freezes first, then slips out with a quick, short flight before dropping back into vegetation. In the breeding season the male gives a sound like a galloping horse; in winter it stays silent.
It breeds in marshes, bogs, tundra, and wet meadows with short plants in northern Europe and northern Russia. Outside the breeding season it moves to Britain, coastal parts of Europe, Africa, and India, and it feeds on insects, earthworms, and some plant material in soft mud.
Where to find
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Along canal edges or pond margins — in soggy grass and mud, where Jack Snipe feeds almost motionless.
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On a waterlogged meadow after rain — in short wet sward, often flushing almost from underfoot in a sudden burst.
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Beside reeds and sedges on a quiet marshy corner — easiest to notice when it springs up from cover without warning.
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Rain-filled ruts and damp rough ground with tussocks and puddles — where it may dart along the ground hunting small invertebrates.
