Wilson's Snipe
Gallinago delicata
Summary 3
A medium-sized (28cm/11in) wader, Wilson’s Snipe is most easily identified by its mottled-brown back, long bill, and orange tail patches. Other field marks include a pale belly, black facial stripes, and dull green legs. Males and females are similar to one another in all seasons. They breed widely across Alaska, Canada, and the northern tier of the United States. Birds breeding in the Pacific Northwest, in the interior western U. S, and along the Great Lakes are non-migratory. Other populations migrate south for the winter, where they may be found from the south-central U.S. south into Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and South America. They breed in freshwater marshes, swamps, and bogs with areas of marsh grasses for cover. This species utilizes similar habitats in winter as in summer.
Wilson’s Snipes mainly eat insects and other small invertebrates. They may be observed using their long bills to probe the mud for food. When flushed from a clump of marsh grasses, Wilson’s Snipes will explode into the air, flying in a zigzag pattern until it has reached safety. This species is active both during the day and at night, when it may feed.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/slobirdr/11635736575/
- (c) Larry Meade, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/34323709@N07/7032716277/
- Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22710096
More Info
Range Map
iNaturalist.ca Map
| Color | brown, white |
|---|---|
| Animal | Bird |
| Bird | waders |
