Common Snipe Identification
Its scientific name is 'Gallinago gallinago', from the family Scolopacidae (order Charadriiformes)
What I look like
The Common Snipe is twice as small as the Eurasian Curlew.
It has a compact body, short neck, and short legs.
Its bill is very long and straight.
The upper plumage is brown with distinct ochre-yellow bands on the head and back.
On the underside, the flanks are barred and the belly is white.
In flight, the upper wings show a white trailing edge.
In flight, the underside of the wings has visible pale bands.
My songs, my calls
The Common Snipe has an explosive flight call "kètch" that sometimes resembles a muffled sneeze.
During courtship displays, its song is a long series of "tik-a tik-a tik-a", whether in flight or perched.
Its courtship flight produces a vibrating sound due to the vibration of the tail feathers spread during a dive. "vu-vu-vu-vu-vu". This sound is used to mark territory.
How I behave
The Common Snipe is often hidden.
It often has a crouching posture.
When it is alert, it crouches and suddenly takes off a few meters away, emitting a sharp call and with a vigorous thrust.
Its takeoff is distinctive, as it zigzags over a long distance with vigorous flight to land under cover.
In flight, its bill is tilted downwards.
It is often in groups.
Sometimes, it can be seen singing from a perch.
How I reproduce
Its nest is placed in a ground depression, on a small clump of grass, often well hidden in vegetation.
The nest is cup-shaped, made of fine grasses, mosses, and dead leaves, lined with vegetation.
Courtship flights often occur at night or at dusk, identified by the vibrating sound of the feathers.
The courtship display occurs over the territory. The male performs circles at height and then dives towards the ground in a rapid descent with slow wing beats, and spreads his tail to form a right angle with his body.
The chicks have colored and contrasting down.
What I eat
The Common Snipe feeds on worms, insects, mollusks, and crustaceans.
On the ground, it probes deeply or picks its food from the surface.
The flexible tip of its bill allows it to sense its prey when probing in the mud.
It feeds in shallow muddy waters, at the edges of lakes and ponds, hidden in vegetation.
Where to find me
The Common Snipe lives in bogs and marshes as well as in wet meadows where the low vegetation is dense.
It can be sedentary as in the northern part of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom…
or migratory, moving north and east in Europe in summer and wintering in southern Europe and around the Mediterranean basin.
It can live for about twelve years.