Birds Guide

Snipes
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae
Genera
Coenocorypha Gallinago Lymnocryptes

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.

There are two southern snipe species in the genus Coenocorypha, 15 typical snipes in the genus Gallinago and the very small Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus.

Some snipe species have been hunted for food and sport since the invention of the shotgun. They can be 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.

The elusive nature of the snipe is well-known among hunters. In the days of market hunting, the most skilled hunters of all would often bring many Common Snipe to market earning 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. In addition, the often-unsuccessful nature of a snipe hunt lead to the practical joke of the same name.

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

External links

• Snipe videos on the Internet Bird Collection