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{{short description|Common name for wading birds}}
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" align="right" cellpading="2">
{{Other uses}}
<tr><th align="center" bgcolor=pink>'''Snipe'''</th></tr>
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
</td></tr>
{{Paraphyletic group
<tr><td>]<br>
| name = Snipe
<small>Common Snipe</small></td></tr>
| image = Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) (26144727151).jpg
<tr><th align="center" bgcolor=pink>''']'''</th></tr>
| image_alt = Long-legged bird with long bill wading in marsh
<tr><td><table align="center">
| image_caption = ] (''Gallinago gallinago'')
<tr><td>]:</td><td>]ia</td></tr>
| auto = yes
<tr><td>]:</td><td>]</td></tr>
| parent = Scolopacidae
<tr><td>]:</td><td>]</td></tr>
| includes =
<tr><td>]:</td><td>]</td></tr>
* '']''
<tr><td>]&dagger;:</td><td>]</td></tr>
* '']''
</table>
* '']''
</td></tr>
| includes_ref =
<tr><td><table align="center" width="100%">
| excludes =
<tr><th align="center" bgcolor=pink>]</th></tr>
* '']''
<tr><td>
* '']''
''Coenocorypha''<br>
* '']''
''Gallinago''<br>
* '']''
''Lymnocryptes''
* '']''
</td></tr></table>
* '']''
<tr><td align="center">&dagger; see also: ]</td></tr>
* '']''
</td></tr></table>
* '']''
* '']''
* '']''
* '']''
* '']''
| excludes_ref =
}}


A '''snipe''' is any of about 26 ] species in three ] in the ] ]. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and ]/] ]. The '']'' snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the '']'' snipe is restricted to ] and ] and the '']'' snipes are found only in the ]. The four species of ] are not closely related to the typical snipes, and are placed in their own family, the Rostratulidae.
A '''Snipe''' is any of 18 very similar ] ] species, characterised by a very long slender bill and cryptic plumage.


==Behaviour==
These are birds of marshy areas which often crouch motionless when disturbed until exploding away when almost underfoot.
Snipes search for ]s in the mud with a "]" action of their long bills. The sensitivity of the bill is caused by filaments belonging to the fifth pair of nerves, which run almost to the tip and open immediately under the soft cuticle in a series of cells; a similar adaptation is found in ]s; this adaptation gives this portion of the surface of the ] a honeycomb-like appearance: with these filaments the bird can sense its food in the mud without seeing it.<ref>{{EB1911|wstitle=Snipe|last=Newton|first=Alfred|author-link=Alfred Newton}}</ref>


==Diet==
They search for invertebrates in the mud with a "sewing-machine" action of their long bills.
Snipes feed mainly on insect ]. Other invertebrate prey include ]s, ], and ]s. The snipe's bill allows the very tip to remain closed while the snipe slurps up invertebrates.<ref name ="aab">{{cite web |url=http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/wilsons_snipe/lifehistory|title=Wilson's Snipe, Life History, All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology}}</ref> Snipes also feed on the dung beetle known as Trumpicus Stupidamondus; however, they often die from indigestion.


==Habitat==
Most have distinctive displays, usually given at dawn or dusk.


Snipes can be found in various types of wet marshy settings including ], ], ], and along ]s, coast lines, and ]. Snipes avoid settling in areas with dense vegetation, but rather seek marshy areas with patchy cover to hide from predators.<ref name="aab" />
There are two southern snipe species in the genus ''Coenocorypha'', 15 typical snipe in the genus ''Gallinago'', and the very small ], ''Lymnocryptes minimus''.


==Hunting==
Species are:
{{For|the practical joke|Snipe hunt}}
]]]
]. Japan, 1900–1930]]


Camouflage may enable snipes to remain undetected by hunters in ]. The bird is also highly alert and startled easily, rarely staying long in the open. If the snipe flies, hunters have difficulty wing-shooting due to the bird's erratic flight pattern.
* '''Family: Scolopacidae (part)'''
** Chatham Snipe, <i>Coenocorypha pusilla</i>
** Subantarctic Snipe, <i>Coenocorypha aucklandica</i>
** ], <i>Lymnocryptes minimus</i>
** Solitary Snipe, <i>Gallinago solitaria</i>
** Latham's Snipe, <i>Gallinago hardwickii</i>
** Wood Snipe, <i>Gallinago nemoricola</i>
** Pintail Snipe, <i>Gallinago stenura</i>
** Swinhoe's Snipe, <i>Gallinago megala</i>
** African Snipe, <i>Gallinago nigripennis</i>
** Madagascar Snipe, <i>Gallinago macrodactyla</i>
** ], <i>Gallinago media</i>
** ], <i>Gallinago gallinago</i>
*** The American race, ''G. g. delicata'' is sometimes considered a separate species, Wilson's Snipe.
** South American Snipe, <i>Gallinago paraguaiae</i>
** Noble Snipe, <i>Gallinago nobilis</i>
** Giant Snipe, <i>Gallinago undulata</i>
** Fuegian Snipe, <i>Gallinago stricklandii</i>
** Andean Snipe, <i>Gallinago jamesoni</i>
** Imperial Snipe, <i>Gallinago imperialis</i>


The difficulties involved around hunting snipes gave rise to the military term '']'', which originally meant an expert hunter highly skilled in ] and ], but later evolved to mean a ] or a shooter who makes distant shots from concealment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sniper |title=sniper (n.) |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="Metaphors">{{cite book | last = Palmatier | first = Robert Allen | title = Speaking of Animals: A Dictionary of Animal Metaphors | date = 1995 | publisher = Greenwood Publishing | location = Westport, Connecticut | page = 357 | isbn = 0313294909 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSr4fO2zYrIC&pg=PA357}}</ref>
----


==See also==
A ''']''' is a practical joke in which a victim is told they are going to hunt snipe in an area where they are guaranteed not to be, and are then left there.
* ]
* ]
* ]


==Footnotes==
The term is also used to describe a low-life, although this is more commonly known as a '''guttersnipe'''.
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
A Snipe is also a class of racing sailboat. It is 16 ft (5 m) long, weighs 371 lb (170 kg), has a ]. The boat is sailed by two people. It has a jib and a main but no ]. The boat is one of the most popular racing sailboats worldwide with active fleets in many countries. National and international championships are held annually.
{{wiktionary|snipe}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Snipe}}
* on the Internet Bird Collection
* at fssbirding.org.uk

]
]
]

Latest revision as of 11:11, 26 December 2024

Common name for wading birds For other uses, see Snipe (disambiguation).

Snipe
Long-legged bird with long bill wading in marsh
Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Suborder: Scolopaci
Family: Scolopacidae
Groups included
Cladistically included but traditionally excluded taxa

A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the Coenocorypha snipes are found only in the outlying islands of New Zealand. The four species of painted snipe are not closely related to the typical snipes, and are placed in their own family, the Rostratulidae.

Behaviour

Snipes search for invertebrates in the mud with a "sewing-machine" action of their long bills. The sensitivity of the bill is caused by filaments belonging to the fifth pair of nerves, which run almost to the tip and open immediately under the soft cuticle in a series of cells; a similar adaptation is found in sandpipers; this adaptation gives this portion of the surface of the premaxillaries a honeycomb-like appearance: with these filaments the bird can sense its food in the mud without seeing it.

Diet

Snipes feed mainly on insect larva. Other invertebrate prey include snails, crustacea, and worms. The snipe's bill allows the very tip to remain closed while the snipe slurps up invertebrates. Snipes also feed on the dung beetle known as Trumpicus Stupidamondus; however, they often die from indigestion.

Habitat

Snipes can be found in various types of wet marshy settings including bogs, swamps, wet meadows, and along rivers, coast lines, and ponds. Snipes avoid settling in areas with dense vegetation, but rather seek marshy areas with patchy cover to hide from predators.

Hunting

For the practical joke, see Snipe hunt.
Painting of a kneeling hunter shooting at a group of birds flying above a marsh
Depiction of a snipe hunter, by A. B. Frost
Snipe in Water, by Ohara Koson. Japan, 1900–1930

Camouflage may enable snipes to remain undetected by hunters in marshland. The bird is also highly alert and startled easily, rarely staying long in the open. If the snipe flies, hunters have difficulty wing-shooting due to the bird's erratic flight pattern.

The difficulties involved around hunting snipes gave rise to the military term sniper, which originally meant an expert hunter highly skilled in marksmanship and camouflaging, but later evolved to mean a sharpshooter or a shooter who makes distant shots from concealment.

See also

Footnotes

  1.  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Newton, Alfred (1911). "Snipe". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^ "Wilson's Snipe, Life History, All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology".
  3. "sniper (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  4. Palmatier, Robert Allen (1995). Speaking of Animals: A Dictionary of Animal Metaphors. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing. p. 357. ISBN 0313294909.

External links

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