Bird of the Month: Wilson’s Snipe
Written by Andy McCormick
Andy McCormick, Volunteer and Former Board President of Eastside Audubon
Although common across North America, Wilson’s Snipe is often overlooked because its dark body blends in with the wet, grassy habitat it prefers.
Wilson’s Snipe is often unseen until it is flushed, bursting upward and moving off in a zigzagging flight pattern calling a loud ski-ape. The upper wing appears dark at a distance, separating it from many other shorebirds. At closer range a white trailing edge to the wing is visible. The body of the snipe is dark with light streaks along the back. The long, straight bill resembles that of a dowitcher, but the stocky body, and the lack of a white rump separate the two species.
Wilson’s Snipe is placed in the genus Gallinago, from the Latin gallina, a hen with the suffix -ago meaning resembling. Snipe is a derivation of snite, an older version of “snout,” the Anglo-Saxon name for this bird with reference to its bill (Holloway; Bell & Kennedy). The species epithet delicata is Latin for dainty (Jobling). The reason for this name is unknown.
THE TAIL MAKES THE SOUND
During spring courtship, the male Wilson’s Snipe soars up in a twisting display flight. When it gains sufficient altitude, it reverses course and swoops down in a pendulum-like flight. As it does the outer tail feathers vibrate, much like the reed in a saxophone, and create a winnowing sound like hoo hoo hoohooHooHooHooHoo, also described as quavering hoots, similar to the tremelo call of the Boreal Owl (Bell & Kennedy; Dunne; Alderfer). Some females will also winnow in breeding season. An excellent recording of this winnowing sound by Nathan Pieplow can be heard at the Macaulay Library. Scroll down the audio files to locate his recording of 20 April 2008 or click here.
Wilson’s Snipe
Scientific Name: Gallinago delicata
Length: 10.5”
Wingspan: 18”
Weight: 3.7oz (105g)
AOU Alpha Code: WISN
FRESHWATER SHOREBIRD
Wilson’s Snipe favors freshwater environments and does not usually mix with other shorebirds. It forages by probing its bill in soft mud. The tip of the bill is sensitive allowing it to feel prey underground where it searches for a wide variety of invertebrates including the larvae of flies and beetles, earthworms, leeches, crustaceans, mollusks, spiders, and frogs (Kaufman).
The female creates a nest site on the ground buried in vegetation and lines the soil with grass and weeds. She deposits four brown to olive-buff eggs and incubates them for about three weeks. Young leave the nest shortly after hatching and both parents care for them and in some cases will split the brood. In another three weeks, the young will make their first flight (Kaufman).
STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION
Wilson’s Snipe is common across North America breeding in the northern half of the continent and at higher elevation in the Pacific Northwest. In fall they depart the breeding range and migrate to lower latitudes across the United States and Mexico. The snipe has long been considered a game bird and is actively hunted. Annual takes have been estimated ranging to 500,000 or more (Mueller). However, it is not threatened or endangered. In fact, hunting groups promote reed and grass cutting programs to create the snipe’s favored habitat of close-cropped vegetation. It is interesting to note that Wilson’s Snipe is a resident bird in King County’s Marymoor Park in the area of the Sammamish River where the reeds and grass are cut annually.
A NOTE ON SNIPE TAXONOMY
Wilson’s Snipe, named for American Ornithologist Alexander Wilson, was initially considered a separate species from the European Snipe (now Common Snipe G. gallanago ). However, Arthur Cleveland Bent (1962) writing in 1927 commented that Wilson’s Snipe and European Snipe “are so much alike that it seems best to regard them as subspecies, rather than as distinct species.” Eighteen years later in 1945 the American Ornithological Union (AOU, now American Ornithological Society (AOS)) lumped the two species with the name Common Snipe considering the two as subspecies (Mueller). However, further research found that Wilson’s Snipe has eight pair of tail feathers compared with seven of the Common Snipe and makes a different winnowing display sound produced by the tail feathers (Mueller). Using this evidence, in 2003 the AOU re-split Wilson’s and Common Snipes into distinct species. Nevertheless, these changes have not altered the reality that it remains difficult to distinguish these two species in the field. On the other hand, identification is simplified because their ranges are separate and, with the exception of rare occurrences in western Alaska, snipes in North and South America are Wilson’s Snipes.
Photo credit Andy McCormick. References available upon request from amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org.