21-7-2024 VIGUR ISLAND, ICELAND - COMMON SNIPE (Gallinago gallinago)

The Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago, is a small, stocky wader, part of the Scolopacidae family. It is a bird that is well adapted to its wetland habitats, with a mottled brown plumage adorned with straw-yellow stripes on its back and a paler underside. Its most distinctive feature is the very long, straight dark bill, measuring between 5.5 and 7 cm, which it uses to probe the soft mud for food. Adults measure 25–27 cm in length, with a wingspan of 44–47 cm, and weigh between 80–140 g, occasionally reaching up to 180 g prior to migration.

When identifying the Common Snipe, look for the dark eye stripe bordered by lighter stripes above and below. Its wings are pointed, and it has short greenish-grey legs. The flight is characterized by rapid, zig-zag patterns accompanied by a sharp "scape" call when flushed.

The Common Snipe frequents marshes, bogs, tundra, and wet meadows across the Palearctic, finding solace in the dense vegetation of these wetlands.

This species breeds across a vast range from Iceland and the British Isles to northern Fennoscandia, through European Russia and Siberia, extending east to Anadyr, Kamchatka, Bering Island, and the Kuril Islands. Its southern range in Europe includes parts of Portugal, France, Italy, Bulgaria, and Ukraine, while in Asia, it reaches northern Turkestan, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. The Common Snipe is migratory, with European birds wintering in southern and western Europe and Africa, and Asian migrants heading to tropical southern Asia.

7-9-2022 EL SALER, ALBUFERA - COMMON SNIPE (Gallinago gallinago)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/318836-Gallinago-gallinago

24-3-2021 EL FONDO, ALICANTE - COMMON SNIPE (Gallinago gallinago)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/318836-Gallinago-gallinago

 

13-12-2017 ALBUFERA, VALENCIA - COMMON SNIPE (Gallinago gallinago)

The Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago, is a small, stocky wader, part of the Scolopacidae family. It is a bird that is well adapted to its wetland habitats, with a mottled brown plumage adorned with straw-yellow stripes on its back and a paler underside. Its most distinctive feature is the very long, straight dark bill, measuring between 5.5 and 7 cm, which it uses to probe the soft mud for food. Adults measure 25–27 cm in length, with a wingspan of 44–47 cm, and weigh between 80–140 g, occasionally reaching up to 180 g prior to migration.

When identifying the Common Snipe, look for the dark eye stripe bordered by lighter stripes above and below. Its wings are pointed, and it has short greenish-grey legs. The flight is characterized by rapid, zig-zag patterns accompanied by a sharp "scape" call when flushed.

The Common Snipe frequents marshes, bogs, tundra, and wet meadows across the Palearctic, finding solace in the dense vegetation of these wetlands.

This species breeds across a vast range from Iceland and the British Isles to northern Fennoscandia, through European Russia and Siberia, extending east to Anadyr, Kamchatka, Bering Island, and the Kuril Islands. Its southern range in Europe includes parts of Portugal, France, Italy, Bulgaria, and Ukraine, while in Asia, it reaches northern Turkestan, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. The Common Snipe is migratory, with European birds wintering in southern and western Europe and Africa, and Asian migrants heading to tropical southern Asia.

The Common Snipe is a master of camouflage, often remaining undetected until one is nearly upon it. It exhibits a unique "winnowing" display during courtship, where the male flies high and dives to produce a drumming sound with its tail feathers, reminiscent of a bleating sheep or goat.

The call when flushed is a sharp "scape." The drumming sound produced during the male's display flight is a distinctive, breathy vibration that carries across its habitat.

Nesting occurs in well-hidden ground locations. The female lays four dark olive eggs, blotched with brown, and incubates them for 18–21 days. Chicks are adorned in dark maroon down and are cared for by both parents, with fledging occurring in 10–20 days.

The Common Snipe is similar to the Wilson's Snipe (G. delicata) of North America, the Pin-tailed Snipe (G. stenura), and Swinhoe's Snipe (G. megala) of eastern Asia. It can be distinguished by the number of tail feathers and the width of the white trailing edge on the wings.

The diet consists primarily of insects and earthworms, with some plant material. The snipe forages by probing soft mud with its long bill or by picking up food by sight.

The Common Snipe is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. However, populations on the southern edges of its range are declining due to habitat loss from field drainage and agricultural intensification. It is protected under the AEWA and is still hunted as a gamebird in many areas.

6-12-2017 ALBUFERA, VALENCIA - COMMON SNIPE (Gallinago gallinago)

Common snipes (Gallinago gallinago) are small, stocky waders native to the Old World. These birds are known for their courtship display in which males produce a sound that reminds the bleating of a sheep or goat; hence in many languages the Common snipe is known by names signifying "flying goat", "heaven's ram", "heather-bleater" in Scotland and in Finnish the name taivaanvuohi, "sky goat".

Common snipes have short greenish-grey legs and a very long (5.5-7 cm (2.2-2.8 in)) straight dark bill. The body is mottled brown with straw-yellow stripes on top and pale underneath. They have a dark stripe through the eye, with light stripes above and below it. Their wings are pointed.

Common snipes are found throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution limit extends from Iceland over the north of the British Isles and northern Fennoscandia, as well as through European Russia and Siberia. In the east, it extends to the Anadyr, Kamchatka, the Bering Island, and the Kuril Islands. In Europe, the distribution area runs through northern Portugal, central France, northern Italy, Bulgaria, and Ukraine. In Asia, it extends south to northern Turkestan, locally to Afghanistan and the Middle East, through the Altai, and further to Manchuria and Ussuri. Common snipes are mostly migratory; European birds winter in southern and western Europe and Africa (south to the Equator), and Asian migrants move to tropical southern Asia. These birds prefer to live near marshes, bogs, in the tundra, taiga, grassy edges of lakes and rivers, estuaries, ponds, rice fields, and wet meadows.

Common snipes are social birds that usually forage in small groups and may gather in flocks of up to 500 individuals at rich feeding grounds. They feed at dawn and dusk wading in soft mud, probing or picking up food by sight. These are shy birds that conceal themselves close to ground vegetation and flush only when approached closely. When flushed, they utter a sharp note that sounds like scape and fly off in a series of aerial zig-zags to confuse predators.

Common snipes are monogamous and form pairs. In order to attract the female, males perform "winnowing" courtship display; they fly high in circles and then take shallow dives to produce a "drumming" sound by vibrating their tail feathers. After the pair was formed, the birds nest in a well-hidden location on the ground, laying 4 eggs of a dark olive color, blotched and spotted with a rich brown. The eggs are incubated by the female for 18-21 days. The freshly hatched chicks are helpless and covered in dark maroon down, variegated with black, white, and buff. They are cared for by both parents and each parent looks after half the brood. The young start to fly when they are between 10 and 20 days old.

6-12-2017 ALBUFERA, VALENCIA - COMMON SNIPE (Gallinago gallinago)

Common snipes (Gallinago gallinago) are small, stocky waders native to the Old World. These birds are known for their courtship display in which males produce a sound that reminds the bleating of a sheep or goat; hence in many languages the Common snipe is known by names signifying "flying goat", "heaven's ram", "heather-bleater" in Scotland and in Finnish the name taivaanvuohi, "sky goat".

Common snipes have short greenish-grey legs and a very long (5.5-7 cm (2.2-2.8 in)) straight dark bill. The body is mottled brown with straw-yellow stripes on top and pale underneath. They have a dark stripe through the eye, with light stripes above and below it. Their wings are pointed.

Common snipes are social birds that usually forage in small groups and may gather in flocks of up to 500 individuals at rich feeding grounds. They feed at dawn and dusk wading in soft mud, probing or picking up food by sight. These are shy birds that conceal themselves close to ground vegetation and flush only when approached closely. When flushed, they utter a sharp note that sounds like scape and fly off in a series of aerial zig-zags to confuse predators.