Photo · By JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23214324

BirdUp · Species

Pin-tailed Snipe

Gallinago stenura(Bonaparte, 1831)

LCNative

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The pin-tailed snipe or pintail snipe is a species of bird in the family Scolopacidae, the sandpipers.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

Field tips

behaviour

When flushed, this species typically maintains a low and relatively straight flight path, lacking the extreme, sharp zigzagging movements characteristic of the Common Snipe.

flight

In flight, the wings appear relatively blunt and completely lack a white trailing edge along the rear margin.

plumage

The underwing is densely and uniformly barred, giving the entire underside of the wing a distinctly dark, greyish appearance in flight.

size_and_shape

At rest, the folded wingtips usually reach or extend slightly past the end of the tail, creating a notably short-tailed profile.

voice

Listen for a weak, high-pitched 'squik' or 'pep' call given immediately upon taking flight, which is quieter and thinner than the calls of other large snipes.

02 · Where

Breeding range: Low Arctic tundra to temperate montane meadows of north-central and north-east Palearctic: north-west Siberia and north-east Kazakhstan and north Mongolia to central Chukotskiy Pen. to Sea of Okhotsk (east Siberia)
Non-breeding range: OR, AU : inland wetlands of subtropical to tropical Oriental region: south and south-east Arabian Pen., south and south-east Asia, Greater Sundas, south-east China, Taiwan, Korean Pen., Ryukyu Is. (south Japan); north Australia and Christmas Island

03 · When

Months this species is recorded across its Australian range.

05 · Behaviour

06 · Gallery

2 photos

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