Native of the Week: Wilson's Snipe

Species: Wilson’s snipe

Scientific name: Gallinago delicata

Nicknames: Common snipe

Claim to fame: This long-billed bird is best known as a make-believe quarry that lures people into all-night bogus hunts. In fact, the practical joke version of “snipe hunting” has become so well-known that many people think there is no such creature as a snipe. Not only can this bird be found in Missouri; it can be hunted here, too. Missouri’s snipe season opened September 1 and runs through December 16. The bag limit is eight and the possession limit is 24.

Species status: Snipe are most common here in the spring and fall when they migrate through the region. During summer, snipe can be found in their breeding and nesting range in Canada and the northern United States. Fall migrations move snipe to a wintering area that extends from mid-Missouri into to South America.

First discovered: The first scientific description of the common snipe was written by the renowned naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The bird is named after famed ornithologist Alexander Wilson. Snipe hunting – the kind you do with shotguns, not sacks – was much more popular in the 1800s than it is in present times. The bird’s explosive take-off and rapid zig-zag flight when flushed made it a challenging target for early wing-shooters. As the pursuit of quail, dove, grouse and other gamebirds increased in popularity, snipe hunting gradually slipped into the background. The term “sniper” is a remnant of snipe hunting’s popularity. Because a snipe hunter had a skill for hitting a challenging target, a “sniper” became the term used for a skilled military shooter able to hit a challenging target from a hidden vantage point.

Family matters: The common snipe belongs to the bird family Scolopacidae. This family contains the largest number of species in the grouping of birds collectively known as “shorebirds.” The common snipe is one of more than 80 sandpiper species found worldwide.

Length: 11 inches

Weight: not available

Diet: Insects, insect larvae, small crustaceans, worms

Distinguishing characteristics: The common snipe is brown with buff-colored stripes on its back and head. The bird’s most noticeable feature is its long, straight bill, which comes in handy when it is probing through the mud for food items. A snipe’s call is a raspy “scaip” or a measured “chip-a, chip-a, chip-a,” etc. Like other sandpipers, snipe have relatively long wings and short tails

Life span: Information not available, but two to five years is a good estimate.

Habitat: Snipe are common inhabitants of wet marshes and meadows. They can occasionally be seen on fence posts near wet fields or other low-lying areas that are barely flooded. The combination of its small body and long beak makes snipe easily recognizable from most other birds; although they can be confused with American woodcocks or long-billed dowitchers, both of which migrate through Missouri in the fall.

Life cycle: Courtship and nesting occurs in the spring. Males arrive at breeding grounds before females and establish territories for display. In the most common display, the males dives through the air at great speed, causing a drumming sound as air rushes through his outer tail feathers. The nest is made on dry ground when possible and near clumps of grass, which the birds pull down over it. Three or four eggs are laid, which are incubated in 17 to 19 days. Incubation is usually done by the female alone.