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Wilson's Snipe

Gallinago gallinagoOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)
Codes: Common Name: COSN Scientific Name: GALGAL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176700
Least Concern
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Wilson's Snipe
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Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.

Overview

Wilson's Snipe: Medium sandpiper, brown and black mottled upperparts, buff stripes on back. White underparts, dark bars on sides, flanks. Heavily streaked head, neck, breast. Dark brown wings, nearly black primaries. Black tail with broad, red-brown central bar, white tip. Yellow-green legs, feet.


Range and Habitat

Wilson's Snipe: Breeds in northern U.S., Canada, and Eurasia. Spends winters as far south as northern South America and central Africa. Prefers freshwater marshes and swamps, frequents open landscapes.

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Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"wheat-wheat-wheat-wheat"

Interesting Facts

 Wilson’s Snipe was reclassified as a separate species from the Common Snipe in 2002.

 The male makes a sound (non-vocal) called winnowing that is used in courtship displays and in territory defense. Also called drumming or bleating, the sound is created in flight by vibrating outer tail feathers that are spread wide while the bird is diving.

 An elusive bird difficult to hunt, the snipe led to the use of the word sniper in terms of a sharpshooter in the early 19th century.

 A group of snipes has many collective nouns, including a "leash", "walk", "whisper", "winnowing", and "volley" of snipes.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Irina Rud-Volga

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Range Map for Wilson's Snipe

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Family Sandpiper (Scolopacidae)_blue
Species Gallinago gallinago
Length10 - 11 Inches
Wingspan18.5 Inches

Wilson's Snipe

Wilson's Snipe: Medium sandpiper, brown and black mottled upperparts, buff stripes on back. White underparts, dark bars on sides, flanks. Heavily streaked head, neck, breast. Dark brown wings, nearly black primaries. Black tail with broad, red-brown central bar, white tip. Yellow-green legs, feet.

● Song: "wheat-wheat-wheat-wheat"

● Foraging & Feeding: Wilson's Snipe: Feeds on insects and earthworms taken from mud by probing with its long bill.

● Breeding & nesting: Wilson's Snipe: Four olive to brown eggs with brown splotches and spots are laid in a ground scrape lined with grass. Incubation ranges from 18 to 20 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Wilson's (Common) Snipe: American Woodcock is chunkier, has bars on crown instead of longitudinal stripes, lacks bars on flanks, and has richer brown underparts, including wing linings.

Flight Pattern

Zigzag flight on takeoff followed by direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Wilson's Snipe Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Wilson's Snipe: Breeds in northern U.S., Canada, and Eurasia. Spends winters as far south as northern South America and central Africa. Prefers freshwater marshes and swamps, frequents open landscapes.
BreedingSolitary nester
PopulationDeclining
MigrationMigratory
Weight4.5 Ounces
Sandpiper-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
PrimariesX
The primaries are the flight feathers specialized for flight. They are attached to the "hand" equivalent part of the wing.
Outer tail feathersX
The tail feathers farthest from the center.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX