Pin-tailed Snipe

Overview

The pin-tailed snipe (Gallinago stenura), also known as the pintail snipe, is a species of wading bird in the family Scolopacidae. It breeds in northern Russia and migrates to spend the non-breeding season across southern Asia, from Pakistan to Indonesia.

Identification

• Size and build: 25–27 cm long, with a shorter tail and less pointed wings than the common snipe.
• Plumage: Mottled brown upperparts with cream lines down the back; pale underparts featuring a streaked buff breast and white belly.
• Bill and legs: Long, straight, dark bill and short greenish-grey legs.
• Sound: Males produce a loud, repetitive 'tcheka' song with crescendo fizzing and buzzing, accompanied by whistling noises from pin-like outer tail feathers.

Habitat

Breeding occurs in damp marshes and tundra in Arctic and boreal Russia, while non-breeding populations use a variety of wetlands and occasionally drier habitats. It is the most common migrant snipe in southern India, Sri Lanka, and much of Southeast Asia, and is a vagrant to parts of Australia and East Africa.

Diet

These birds forage in mud or soft soil by probing or picking up food by sight. Their diet consists mainly of insects and earthworms, but also includes some plant material.

Did you know?

The species takes its English name from the whistling noises produced in flight by the pin-like outer tail feathers.