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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Scolopacidae
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  5. Gallinago
  6. ›
  7. Swinhoe's Snipe
Swinhoe's Snipe
Photo · Henrik Grønvold

BirdUp · Species

Swinhoe's Snipe

Gallinago megalaSwinhoe, 1861

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Native
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Family
Scolopacidae
Genus
Gallinago

At a glance

The Swinhoe's Snipe is a medium-sized bird, about 27–29 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
27–29 cm
Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

What does a Swinhoe's Snipe look like?

The Swinhoe's Snipe is a medium-sized bird, about 27–29 cm long and weighing 82–164 g.

Swinhoe's snipe, also known as forest snipe or Chinese snipe, is a medium-sized, long-billed, migratory wader.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
27–29 cm
Weight
82–164 g
Wingspan
38 cm

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Swinhoe's Snipe?

The Swinhoe's Snipe is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

What does a Swinhoe's Snipe eat?

The Swinhoe's Snipe feeds on fish/invertebrates, usually foraging in flocks or alone.

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

3 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Swinhoe's Snipe live in Australia?

The Swinhoe's Snipe is native to Australia, recorded across 20 of Australia’s bioregions, with a core range spanning temperate woodland-edge wetlands of central and east Palearctic.

Breeding range
Temperate woodland-edge wetlands of central and east Palearctic: north-east Kazakhstan, south-central Siberia, north-central Mongolia and Amurland (south-east Russia)
Non-breeding range
OR, AU : wetland edge of subtropical to tropical east Oriental region: south Korean Pen., east-central China, Taiwan, Philippines, Malay Pen., Indonesian Arch., New Guinea, far north Australia, Bismarck Arch. (including Admiralty Is.), Solomon Is., Mariana Is. (north Micronesia) and Palau to Chuuk (=Truk; south-west and south-central Caroline Is., Micronesia)