Sandpipers · Shorebirds
Jack Snipe
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Lymnocryptes minimus
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Voice
Call
How to recognize it
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About 18 cm long
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Black-brown back with yellowish longitudinal stripes
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Short, straight bill, about 4 cm
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Bobs in place; crouches when threatened and flushes almost from underfoot
About the species
At rest, the Jack Snipe is mottled dark brown above and pale below, with a green sheen across its back. A dark line crosses the eye, and two pale stripes run along the sides of the crown. Yellow lines along the back become easier to see when it flies.
It stays tucked into marsh vegetation, often crouching motionless until danger comes close, then flies a short way and drops back into cover. On the ground, it repeatedly bobs up and down. Males make a sound like a horse at a gallop during courtship flights; in winter, they are silent.
It breeds in marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows with short vegetation across northern Europe and northern Russia, then spends the non-breeding months in coastal Europe, Africa and India. While feeding, it probes soft mud or picks insects and earthworms from the surface, and also eats some plant material.
Where to find
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In soft marsh mud, look for Jack Snipe probing the ground with its bill for insects and worms.
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In autumn, as you walk through dense marsh vegetation, watch for a sudden flush almost at your feet, followed by a short flight back into cover.
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In summer, listen over northern marshes for the male's rhythmic courtship sound, which resembles a galloping horse.
