Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata) is a small, stocky shorebird. The generic name Gallinago is Neo-Latin for a woodcock or snipe from Latin gallina, "hen" and the suffix -ago, "resembling". The specific name delicata is Latin for "dainty".

This species was considered to be a subspecies of the common snipe (G. gallinago) until 2003 when it was given its own species status, though not all authorities recognized this immediately. Wilson's snipe differs from the latter species in having a narrower white trailing edge to the wings, and eight pairs of tail feathers instead of the typical seven of the common snipe. Its common name commemorates the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson.

Description

Adults are in length with a wingspan. Weight ranges from . They have short greenish-grey legs and a very long straight dark bill. The body is mottled brown on top and pale underneath. They have a dark stripe through the eye, with light stripes above and below it. The wings are pointed.

Breeding and habits

left|thumb|260px|Wilson's snipe feeding

They breed in marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows in Canada and the northern United States and on the Chukchi Peninsula, Russia. They are year-round residents on the U.S. Pacific coast. The eastern population migrates to the southern United States, the Caribbean, and to northern South America. It may be that climate change causes these birds to move to their breeding range earlier and leave later than 100 years ago. In Ohio for example, late April was recorded as an average migration date in 1906, but now most of the local population is present on the breeding grounds by then already.

Further reading

  • Bezener, A. (2000). Birds of Ontario p. 149. Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton.

Identification

  • Carey, Geoff and Urban Olsson (1995). Field identification of Common, Wilson's, Pintail and Swinhoe's Snipes. Birding World 8(5): 179–190.
  • Leader, Paul (1999). Identification forum: Common Snipe and Wilson's Snipe Birding World 12(9): 371–4.
  • Reid, Marin (2008). Identification of Wilson's and Common Snipe British Birds 101(4): 189–200.

European occurrences

  • Bland, Bryan (1998). The Wilson's Snipe on the Isles of Scilly. Birding World 11(10): 382–5.
  • Bland, Bryan (1999). The Wilson's Snipe on the Isles of Scilly revisited. Birding World 12(2): 56–61.
  • Legrand, Vincent (2005). Identification of a Wilson's Snipe on Ouessant, Finistere. Birding World 18(11): 482–4.
  • Lidster, James (2007). The Wilson's Snipe on the Isles of Scilly. Birding World 20(10):432-5.
  • Millington, Richard (2008). The Wilson's Snipe on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly. Birding World 21(11): 467–9.
  • Wilson's snipe species account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology