The solitary snipe (''Gallinago solitaria'') is a small stocky
wader
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Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
. It is found in the
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...
from northeast Iran to Japan and Korea.
Description
This is a large and heavy
snipe
A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a near ...
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.
![Gallinago solitaria 1921](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Gallinago_solitaria_1921.jpg)
There are two quite similar subspecies. Nominate ''G. s. solitaria'' is very widespread. The breeding range of ''G. s. japonica'', which is richer red and less white above, is unknown, but it winters in Japan.
The solitary snipe makes a hoarse ''kensh'' call as it takes off, and has a far carrying ''chok-a-chok-a'' call when displaying.
The solitary snipe has a relatively slow, heavy flight.
Distribution and habitat
The solitary snipe breeds discontinuously in the mountains of eastern Asia, in eastern Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. Many birds are sedentary in the high mountains, or just move downhill in hard weather, but others are
migratory, wintering in northeast Iran, Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh, eastern China, Korea, Japan and
Sakhalin
Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...
.
Behaviour
This snipe breeds in mountain bogs and river valleys above the timberline, typically from 2,400 m to 5000 m. It is often found in similar marshes and swamps at lower altitudes when not breeding or on migration.
The solitary snipe builds a saucer-shaped nest of dry grass in the drier areas of its breeding wetland. The nest is concealed in a dense tuft of grass or sedges.
This bird has an aerial display, which involves flying high in circles, followed by a powerful stoop during which the bird makes a "
drumming
Drumming may refer to:
* the act of playing the drums or other percussion instruments
* Drummer, a musician who plays a drum, drum kit, or drums
* ''Drumming'' (Reich), a musical composition written by Steve Reich in 1971 for percussion ensemble
...
" sound, caused by vibrations of modified outer tail feathers.
The solitary snipe forages by pushing its long bill deep into the mud seeking invertebrates, such as
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s and worms, seeds and plants. It is quite approachable, but if alarmed, it crouches, and its cryptic plumage provides effective camouflage when the bird stands motionless amongst marsh vegetation. When flushed, it drops back into the marsh after a short slow flight.
References
* Hayman, Marchant and Prater, ''Shorebirds''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q934557
solitary snipe
Birds of North Asia
Birds of Manchuria
Birds of Mongolia
Birds of Western China
Birds of North China
solitary snipe
Taxa named by Brian Houghton Hodgson