Snipe
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A Snipe is any of 18 very similar wading bird species, characterised by a very long slender bill and cryptic plumage.
They search for invertebrates in the mud with a "sewing-machine" action of their long bills.
Most have distinctive displays, usually given at dawn or dusk.
Snipe of all sorts have been hunted for food and sport since the invention of the scattergun. They are extremely difficult targets, confounding even very skilled hunters with their erratic flight, their unexpected flushes, their excellent natural camouflage, and the treacherous and difficult terrain they typically inhabit. In the days of market hunting, the most skilled hunters of all would often bring many snipe to market, and earned the moniker "sniper" as a badge of respect for the difficulty in shooting this amazing little bird. The term has evolved into the modern usage sniper, referring to a skilled antipersonnel sharpshooter.
There are two southern snipe species in the genus Coenocorypha, 15 typical snipe in the genus Gallinago, and the very small Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus.
Species are:
- Chatham Snipe, Coenocorypha pusilla
- Subantarctic Snipe, Coenocorypha aucklandica
- Campbell Island Snipe, Coenocorypha sp.
- Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus
- Solitary Snipe, Gallinago solitaria
- Latham's Snipe, Gallinago hardwickii
- Wood Snipe, Gallinago nemoricola
- Pintail Snipe, Gallinago stenura
- Swinhoe's Snipe, Gallinago megala
- African Snipe, Gallinago nigripennis
- Madagascar Snipe, Gallinago macrodactyla
- Great Snipe, Gallinago media
- Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago
- * The American race, G. g. delicata is sometimes considered a separate species, Wilson's Snipe.
- South American Snipe, Gallinago paraguaiae
- Noble Snipe, Gallinago nobilis
- Giant Snipe, Gallinago undulata
- Fuegian Snipe, Gallinago stricklandii
- Andean Snipe, Gallinago jamesoni
- Imperial Snipe, Gallinago imperialis
See also
External links
- [Snipe videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
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