The Rostratulidae, commonly known as the painted-snipes, are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of wading birds that consists of two genera: ''

Rostratula ''Rostratula'' is a genus of painted-snipes. It contains two extant species distributed across Africa, Asia and Australia. Species Extant Species Fossils *†'' Rostratula minator'' is an extinct species, described from Pliocene deposits in ...

'' and '' Nycticryphes''.

Description

The painted-snipes are short-legged, long-billed

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s similar in shape to the true snipes, but their plumage is much more striking. There is

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

in both size and plumage, with the males being duller overall and smaller. All three species have large forward pointing eyes.

Phylogenetics

The family Rostratulidae encompasses two genera and four species, one of which is extinct. Painted-snipes superficially resemble true

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 ...

s, but the two taxa are not closely related. Instead the similarity can be attributed to

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

where both groups have been subjected to similar selective pressures, thus promoting the evolution of analogous features such as a long slender bill and legs, mottled

cryptic Cryptic may refer to: In science: * Cryptic species complex, a group of species that are very difficult to distinguish from one another * Crypsis, the ability of animals to blend in to avoid observation * Cryptic era, earliest period of the Earth ...

plumage and characteristic body proportions. While less similar in general morphology, the species that are most closely related to painted-snipes are other members of the suborder ''

Thinocori The seedsnipes are a small family, Thinocoridae, of small gregarious waders which have adapted to a herbivorous diet. The family is divided into two genera, '' Attagis'' and '' Thinocorus'', each containing two species. The family has a South A ...

'': jacanas, seedsnipes, and the

plains wanderer The plains-wanderer (''Pedionomus torquatus'') is a bird, the only representative of family Pedionomidae and genus ''Pedionomus''. It is endemic to Australia. The majority of the remaining population is found in the Riverina region of New So ...

.del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Sargatal, J. (editors). (1996). '' Handbook of the Birds of the World.'' Volume 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions. The species †''Rostratula minator'' was described in 1988 from deposits of the early

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Langebaanweg,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. This is the first fossil attributed to the family Rostratulidae. Comparisons of bone measurements with ''R. minator'' and the extant species show that it was intermediate in size, although considerable differences indicate that it may only be an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

African species that has become extinct, rather than a direct ancestor of '' R. benghalensis''. The Australian painted-snipe was described as ''Rostratula australis'' by John Gould in 1838, although later lumped with the similar

greater painted-snipe The greater painted-snipe (''Rostratula benghalensis'') is a species of wader in the family Rostratulidae. It is found in marshes in Africa, South Asia and South-east Asia. Description Medium-sized, plump wading bird. Long reddish-brown bill, ...

, ''R. benghalensis'' as subspecies ''R. b. australis''. However, morphological and genetic differences have resulted in the species being restored in recent years.Baker AJ, Perreira SL, Rogers DI, Elbourne R and Hassell CJ (2007) Mitochondrial-DNA shows that the Australian Painted Snipe is a full species, Rostratula australis. Emu 107: 185-189
/ref> Such a similarity between the two species can be explained by a recent evolutionary divergence, and is an example of

allopatric speciation Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...

where the prevention of

gene flow In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration or geneflow and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent a ...

by geographical isolation has resulted in an accumulation of differences by

genetic drift Genetic drift, also known as allelic drift or the Wright effect, is the change in the frequency of an existing gene variant (allele) in a population due to random chance. Genetic drift may cause gene variants to disappear completely and there ...

and differing selective pressures.

Taxonomy

Family Rostratulidae: painted-snipes

Behaviour

All three species of painted-snipe generally inhabit reedy

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s and marshes, usually in lowlands. Outside of the breeding season painted-snipes are generally solitary in habits. Painted snipes are crepuscular or even slightly

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

in their habits.

Feeding

Painted-snipes are omnivorous, feeding on

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chorda ...

s and seeds. Animal prey taken includes

annelid The annelids (Annelida , from Latin ', "little ring"), also known as the segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecol ...

worms, snails, aquatic and marsh

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 pa ...

s, and crustaceans. The seeds of grasses such as millet and rice are also consumed, and may form a major part of the diet of some populations.

Breeding

The breeding biology of the painted-snipes varies according to genus; the ''Rostratula'' painted-snipes are generally polyandrous whereas the South American painted-snipe is monogamous. The females of the genus ''Rostratula'' will bond with several males during a breeding season, but once the eggs are laid the males provide all the incubation and parental care. The nest of both species is a shallow cup, often built on a platform of vegetation. Clutch sizes range from 2–4 eggs, which are incubated for 15–21 days.

Conservation

At present two species, the South American and greater painted-snipes, are not considered

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depe ...

by human activities; however, the Australian painted-snipe has declined and is considered endangered in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

.Lane, B.A.; & Rogers, D.I. (2000). "The Australian Painted-snipe, ''Rostratula (benghalensis) australis'': an Endangered species?". '' Stilt'' 36: 26–34

References

External links

Painted-snipe videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

Vocal calls of painted snipe
on

Xeno-canto xeno-canto is a citizen science project and repository in which volunteers record, upload and annotate recordings of birdsong and bird calls. Since it began in 2005, it has collected over 575,000 sound recordings from more than 10,000 species wo ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q494623 *