Genus Gallinago

 

Puna Snipe - This small snipe breeds in most of South America away from the Pacific coast and eastern Brazil, and also the Falkland Islands, Trinidad and possibly Tobago The nominate lowland race G. p. paraguaiae is resident, but southern G. p. magellanicae migrates north in winter, abandoning Tierra del Fuego altogether, and the Andean G. p. andina moves to lower ground.

American snipe - Capella gallinago

 

Latham's snipe - Identifiable as a Gallinago snipe by its cryptically-patterned black, brown, buff and white plumage, but is not easily distinguished from Swinhoe's and Pin-tailed Snipe in the field, though it is slightly larger.

 

Imperial Snipe - This 29–31 cm long snipe has a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Its adult plumage is dark rufous brown except for the lower belly and undertail, which are white with heavy brown barring. The grey bill is long, straight and fairly robust, and the legs and feet are grey. The sexes are similar. The juvenile plumage is unknown, but in most snipes species, young birds differ from adults only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts.

 

Andean Snipe - It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Fuegian Snipe, Gallinago stricklandii, which is also known as the Cordilleran Snipe. The scientific name of the Andean Snipe commemorates the Scottish botanist William Jameson.

 

Madagascar Snipe - This is a large and heavy snipe 29-32 cm long with a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Its upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with bold dark brown stripes and gold edges to the feathers forming lines down its back. The belly is white, with some brown barring on the flanks but never on the belly. The blackish bill is very long, straight and fairly robust. The legs and feet are yellowish-olive to greenish-grey. The sexes are similar, and immature differ only in showing buff fringes on the wing coverts.

 

Great Snipe - This bird's breeding habitat is marshes and wet meadows with short vegetation in north eastern Europe and north western Russia. Great Snipes are migratory, wintering in Africa. The European breeding population is in steep decline.

 

Swinhoe - Identifiable as a Gallinago snipe by its cryptically-patterned black, brown, buff and white plumage, but not easily distinguished from Latham's and Pin-tailed Snipe in the field. Commonly referred to as cho suekyung in South Korea.

 

Wood Snipe - This is a dark snipe, 28-32 cm in length, with a short, broad-based bill. It breeds in alpine meadows above 3,000 metres, moving to lower altitudes in the winter.

 

African Snipe - This 30-32 cm long snipe has a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Its upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with bold dark brown stripes and gold edges to the feathers forming lines down its back.. The belly is white, with some brown barring on the flanks but never on the belly. The pinkish-brown bill is very long, straight and fairly robust. The legs and feet are yellowish-olive to greenish-grey. The sexes are similar, and immatures differ only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts.

 

Noble Snipe - This 30-32.5 cm long snipe has a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Its upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with dark brown and buff, and gold edges to the feathers form distinct lines down its back. The belly is white with brown barring on the flanks. The horn-coloured bill is very long and straight. The legs and feet are greyish-green. The sexes are similar, but females are longer billed; immature birds differ only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts. The Noble Snipe has a clear melodious call.

South American Snipe - This small snipe breeds in most of South America away from the Pacific coast and eastern Brazil, and also the Falkland Islands, Trinidad and possibly Tobago The nominate lowland race G. p. paraguaiae is resident, but southern G. p. magellanicae migrates north in winter, abandoning Tierra del Fuego altogether, and the Andean G. p. andina moves to lower ground.

 

Solitary Snipe - This is a large and heavy snipe 29-31 cm long with a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Its upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with medium brown stripes and whitish edges to the feathers forming lines down its back. The face is whitish. The breast is ginger-brown and the belly is white with brown barring on the flanks. The brown and black bill is long, straight and fairly slender. The legs and feet are yellowish-olive to yellowish-brown. All plumages are similar, but females average larger.

 

Pintail Snipe - Its breeding habitat is damp marshes and tundra in Arctic and boreal Russia. Birds in their non-breeding range use a variety of wetlands, often with Common Snipe, but may be found also in drier habitats than their relative. They nest in a well-hidden location on the ground.

 

Fuegian Snipe - It is sporadically recorded in the Falkland Islands, where it has reputedly bred. However, here is only one recent record and the historical documentation of breeding is a lost specimen of questionable identity. The occurrences in these islands could therefore be due to either a tiny breeding population or vagrancy form the mainland.

 

Giant Snipe - It occurs in tall vegetation in swamps and flooded grasslands, and occasionally in dry savannah. It ranges from the lowlands up to 2,200 m altitude.

Order : Charadriiformes
Family : Scolopacidae
Genus : Gallinago