Island Birds | Bird Maps | Snipe


 

    Snipe

 

 

 

Snipe are medium sized, skulking wading birds with short legs and long straight bills. Both sexes are mottled brown above, with paler buff stripes on the back, dark streaks on the chest and pale under parts.

During the breeding season snipe are best looked for on moor land, especially on early spring mornings when males can be heard giving their 'drumming' or 'bleating' display. In winter, look patiently around the edges of pools in well-vegetated wetlands.

They eat small invertebrates, including worms and insect larvae. They search for invertebrates in the mud with a "sewing-machine" action of their long bills

Some snipe species have been hunted for food and sport since the invention of the shotgun. They can be extremely difficult targets, confounding even very skilled hunters with their erratic flight, their unexpected flushes, their excellent natural camouflage and the treacherous and difficult terrain they typically inhabit.

The elusive nature of the snipe is well-known among hunters. In the days of market hunting, the most skilled hunters of all would often bring many Common Snipe to market earning the moniker "sniper" as a badge of respect for the difficulty in shooting this amazing little bird. The term has evolved into the modern usage sniper, referring to a skilled antipersonnel sharpshooter.

 

 

 

 

 


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