Species

Wilson's snipe

Gallinago delicata

A long-billed, striped bird of wet fields that bursts from cover with a harsh cry and zigzags away.

Photo PetroKaterynych (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Misconceptions

At a glance

Size: About 27 to 29 cm long
Weight: About 80 to 145 g
Habitat: Wet fields, marshes, ditches and pond edges
Diet: Earthworms, insect larvae and small crustaceans
In Georgia: A common winter visitor, October to April
Voice: A harsh "skaip" when flushed
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Stocky; very long straight bill; bold stripes on the head and back
Told apart from: American woodcock, which is plain and round and lives in woods
Told apart from: Dowitchers, which are greyer and feed in open water
Where to look: Muddy, grassy edges of ponds and wet pastures

Behaviour

Snipe hide in grass and flush with a zigzag flight when disturbed. They probe mud with their sensitive bills, feeling for worms.

On breeding grounds, males make a hollow "winnowing" sound in display dives, made by air rushing through spread tail feathers.

Why they matter

Snipe spend the winter in wet fields and marsh edges across the South, where they eat many soil invertebrates. Their presence shows that wet grasslands still have healthy soil life.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A grass-lined scrape in wet meadow
Eggs — Usually four
Incubation — About 18 to 20 days
Chicks — Leave the nest within hours
Flight — At about 19 to 20 days
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Wet corners of pastures and ditches left unmown give snipe cover in winter.

Misconceptions

Snipe hunts are made up. The joke is made up; the bird is real, and common in winter.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering	Wintering	Migrating north	Last birds leave	Nesting in the north	Nesting	Chicks	Young flying	Migration begins	Arriving	Wintering	Wintering

Where it lives

Recorded in 85 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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