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Wilson's snipe (''Gallinago delicata'') is a small, stocky shorebird. The generic name ''Gallinago'' is
Neo-Latin Neo-LatinSidwell, Keith ''Classical Latin-Medieval Latin-Neo Latin'' in ; others, throughout. (also known as New Latin and Modern Latin) is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy d ...
for a woodcock or snipe from
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''gallina'', "hen" and the suffix ''-ago'', "resembling". The specific name ''delicata'' is Latin for "dainty". This
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
was considered to be a
subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
of the common snipe (''G. gallinago'') until 2003 when it was given its own species status, though not all authorities recognized this immediately. Wilson's snipe differs from the latter species in having a narrower white trailing edge to the wings, and eight pairs of tail feathers instead of the typical seven of the common snipe. Its common name commemorates the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson.


Description

Adults are in length with a wingspan. Weight ranges from . They have short greenish-grey legs and a very long straight dark bill. The body is mottled brown on top and pale underneath. They have a dark stripe through the eye, with light stripes above and below it. The wings are pointed.


Breeding and habits

They breed in
marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
es, bogs,
tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...
and wet meadows in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and the northern
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and on the Chukchi Peninsula, Russia. They are year-round residents on the U.S. Pacific coast. The eastern population migrates to the southern United States, the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
, and to northern
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
. It may be that
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
causes these birds to move to their breeding range earlier and leave later than 100 years ago. In
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
for example, late April was recorded as an average migration date in 1906, but now most of the local population is present on the breeding grounds by then already. They forage in soft mud, probing or picking up food by sight and eating
insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s,
earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...
s, and plant material. Well-camouflaged, they are usually shy and conceal themselves close to ground vegetation, flushing only when approached closely. They fly off in a series of aerial zig-zags to confuse predators. The male performs "winnowing" display during courtship, flying high in circles and then taking shallow dives to produce a distinctive sound. They have been observed "winnowing" throughout the day and long into the night. The "winnowing" sound is similar to the call of a boreal owl. They nest in a well-hidden location on the ground.


Population

Wilson's snipe was reduced near the end of the 19th century by hunting and habitat destruction. However, this bird remains fairly common and not considered threatened by the
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
, although local populations are sensitive to large-scale draining of wetland.


References


Further reading

* Bezener, A. (2000). ''Birds of Ontario'' p. 149. Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton.


Identification

* Carey, Geoff and Urban Olsson (1995). Field identification of Common, Wilson's, Pintail and Swinhoe's Snipes. '' Birding World'' 8(5): 179–190. * Leader, Paul (1999). Identification forum: Common Snipe and Wilson's Snipe '' Birding World'' 12(9): 371–4. * Reid, Marin (2008). Identification of Wilson's and Common Snipe '' British Birds'' 101(4): 189–200.


European occurrences

* Bland, Bryan (1998). The Wilson's Snipe on the Isles of Scilly. '' Birding World'' 11(10): 382–5. * Bland, Bryan (1999). The Wilson's Snipe on the Isles of Scilly revisited. '' Birding World'' 12(2): 56–61. * Legrand, Vincent (2005). Identification of a Wilson's Snipe on Ouessant, Finistere. '' Birding World'' 18(11): 482–4. * Lidster, James (2007). The Wilson's Snipe on the Isles of Scilly. '' Birding World'' 20(10):432-5. * Millington, Richard (2008). The Wilson's Snipe on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly. '' Birding World'' 21(11): 467–9.


External links


Wilson's snipe species account
– Cornell Lab of Ornithology * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q64927 Gallinago Native birds of Alaska Birds of Canada Meso-American wintering birds Native birds of the Northwestern United States Native birds of the Northeastern United States Birds described in 1825 Taxa named by George Ord