Facts About Snipe

Snipe are shorebirds that somewhat resemble the American Woodcock and Eastern Dowitchers and are descendants of the Sandpiper family. Snipes are a favorite with sport hunters and are often described as a game bird. Also called as Wilson snipe or Jacksnipe, these game birds basically flock to the marshlands and meadows for food. Snipes are better known for their evocative courtship aerial flight, which the male bird undertakes to woo mates, during the courting season. Snipes have black wings with white tips, white belly, long bill, green legs and long toes. Their nesting habits are quite unique and they usually build their nests on small clump of vegetation, with dead grasses, leaves or moss.The young are precocial and remain under the care of both the parents for about 20 days, before fledging. To know more about this interesting species of shorebird, read on and unearth the many interesting and amazing facts about it.

Interesting & Amazing Information On Snipe

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Charadriiformes

Family: Scolopacidae

Species: Gallinago

Length: 10-11 inches

Weight: 110g

Lifespan: 3 years

Diet: Invertebrates,crustaceans, insects, earthworms, spiders, plant fibers, seeds

Habitat: Wet meadows and marshlands.

Gestation Period: 18-20 days

Number of Broods: One

Interesting & Amazing Information On Snipe

During courtship, the male snipe performs a remarkable aerial courtship display, soaring high up into the air and then diving deep and producing its distinctive winnowing sound, as its outer tail feathers vibrate in the air.
Did you know that snipe derives its Finnish pseudonym of ‘Taivaanvuohi’ or ‘sky goat’ for its characteristic goat like sound that it produces while flying.
A group of snipes is usually referred to as ‘leash’, ‘walk’, ‘whisper’, ‘winnowing’, and ‘volley’ of snipes.
The flight pattern of this game bird is unusual as compared to other bird, as snipes usually fly in a zigzag pattern.
Did you know that snipe lays four eggs of which first two chicks are taken away by the male snipe that nests and cares for them, while the other two chicks stay with their mother? What’s more interesting is the fact that the two groups never interact after they part.
Another incredible fact about snipe is that it relies on its touches while hunting. Its sensitive and flexible bill helps it to probe deep for food and serrations on the bill. The spikes on the tongue help it to move food from the bill-tip to the throat.
Snipes are very mysterious birds and it is only during the mating season that this specie of bird becomes conspicuous.
As a part of their defense mechanism, adult snipes perform distraction displays to divert the attention of the predators from nests and young ones, while the females prefer to sit still and alert before the danger is too close.
Snipes give out loud harsh cries as their alarm call to warn their mates of an approaching danger.
The typical, thin, tweeting noise that plays along with the snipe's suggestive aerial display is produced as a result of the wind whistling through its disperse outer tail feathers.

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