| Noble Snipe | ||||||||||||||
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| Gallinago nobilis Sclater, 1856 |
The Noble Snipe, Gallinago nobilis, is a small stocky wader. Philip Lutley Sclater ( November 4, 1829 - June 27, 1913) was an English Lawyer and Zoologist. Waders, called shorebirds in North America (where "wader" is used to refer to long-legged wading Birds such as Storks and It breeds in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela above or just below the treeline. The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Ecuador topics. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the It is entirely sedentary.
Description
This 30-32. 5 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 dark brown and buff, and gold edges to the feathers form distinct lines down its back. The belly is white with brown barring on the flanks. The horn-coloured bill is very long and straight. The legs and feet are greyish-green. The sexes are similar, but females are longer billed; immature birds differ only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts. The Noble Snipe has a clear melodious call.
Andean Snipe occurs within the range of Noble Snipe, but has broad wings, a barred belly and dark underparts. The Andean Snipe, Gallinago jamesoni, is a small stocky wader. Migrant Common and Magellan Snipe are smaller, have more pointed wings and white trailing edged to the wings. 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 South American Snipe or Magellan Snipe, Gallinago paraguaiae, is a small stocky Wader.
Behaviour
The Noble Snipe is found high altitude wet grassland marshes and swamps from 2,700 - 4,200 m.
Little is known of its biology, but it has an 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, lower pitched than that of Common Snipe. Drumming (also called bleating) is a sound produced by Snipe as part of their courtship display flights It breeds from March to July.
The Noble Snipe is usually alone or in pairs, but is difficult to observe on the ground. It forages by pushing its long bill deep into the mud seeking insects and worms. Its cryptic plumage provides effective camouflage when the bird stands motionless amongst marsh vegetation.
References
- Hayman, Marchant and Prater, Shorebirds ISBN 0-873403-19-4
- BirdLife International
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