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African Snipe

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Gallinago
Species: G. The conservation status of a Species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future Least Concern ( LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large Birds It includes about 350 Species and has members in all parts of the world "Sandpiper" redirects here For the 1965 film see The Sandpiper. A snipe is any of nearly 20 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. nigripennis
Binomial name
Gallinago nigripennis
Bonaparte, 1839

The African Snipe, Gallinago nigripennis, also known as the Ethiopian Snipe, is a small stocky wader. Charles Lucien (Carlo Jules Laurent Bonaparte 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano ( May 24, 1803 &ndash July 29, 1857) was a French Waders, called shorebirds in North America (where "wader" is used to refer to long-legged wading Birds such as Storks and It breeds in eastern and southern Africa in wet mountain moorland and swamps at altitudes of 1700 - 4000m. When not breeding it disperses widely, including into coastal lowlands.

Description

This 30-32 cm long snipe has a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. A snipe is any of nearly 20 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. Its upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with bold dark brown stripes and gold edges to the feathers forming lines down its back. . The belly is white, with some brown barring on the flanks but never on the belly. The pinkish-brown bill is very long, straight and fairly robust. The legs and feet are yellowish-olive to greenish-grey. The sexes are similar, and immatures differ only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts.

The African Snipe makes a hleep call as it takes off, and has a far carrying kip call when breeding. It shows white trailing edges on the wings and white tail corners in flight.

The African Snipe can only be confused with the three migrant snipes that occur in its range, Common, Pintail and Great Snipe. Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of Birds Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability The Common Snipe or Fantail Snipe ( Gallinago gallinago) is a small stocky shorebird. The Pintail Snipe, Gallinago stenura, also known as the Pin-tailed Snipe, is a small stocky Wader. The Great Snipe, Gallinago media is a small stocky Wader. This bird's breeding habitat is marshes and wet meadows with short vegetation in north eastern Great Snipe is obviously larger, darker, and relatively shorter billed. Pintail Snipe lacks the white trailing edges on the wings and its tail corners have very little white.

However, Common Snipe is very similar to African; although African is darker above and longer-billed, identification on the ground is very difficult. In flight, African has a slower, more fluttering flight on its more rounded wings, and zig-zags less when flushed. The more extensive white in the tail is often obvious.

Behaviour

The African Snipe builds a saucer-shaped nest of dry grass in the drier areas of its breeding marshes. The nest is concealed in a dense tuft of grass or rushes. Breeding is dependent on the rains in the tropics, but mainly April to October in South Africa, although nesting has occurred in all months. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

This bird has a spectacular aerial display, which involves flying high in circles, followed by a powerful stoop during which the bird makes a drumming sound, caused by vibrations of modified outer tail feathers. Drumming (also called bleating) is a sound produced by Snipe as part of their courtship display flights

The African Snipe is quite common in suitable marshy areas of wetlands and dams. It forages by pushing its long bill deep into the mud seeking insects and worms. If alarmed, it freezes, and its cryptic plumage provides effective camouflage when the bird stands motionless amongst marsh vegetation. When flushed, it flies off fast with a zigzagging action.

References

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