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  • Jack snipe

Jack snipe

Jack snipe
Jack snipe
Jack snipe in flight
Jack snipe in flight
  • Scientific name: Lymnocryptes minimus
  • Bird family: Sandpipers, snipes and phalaropes
  • UK conservation status: Green
  • Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Key information

Jack snipes are smaller than snipe, with a shorter bill. It is a secretive bird and when approached it tends to crouch down, relying on its camouflaged plumage, only flying at the last minute. It will fly low and rapidly drop down again, unlike snipes which zig-zag and then flies off high. When feeding it has a characteristic 'bouncing' motion, as if on a spring.

What they eat:

Insects, worms and snails.

Measurements:

Length:
17-19cm
Wingspan:
38-42cm
Weight:
35-73g

Population:

UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.
UK wintering:
110,000 birds

Identifying features:

Jack snipe

Jack Snipe
Feather colour: Black Brown Cream/buff Green White Yellow
Leg colour: Brown Pink
Beak: Black Brown Long Medium thickness
Natural habitats: Grassland Wetland

Similar birds:

Snipe illustration
Snipe

Where and when to see them

You can see jack snipes in winter, found in lowland wetland areas - the edges of reedbeds and shallow lagoons, fenland, flooded meadows, river edges and muddy ditches.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  • Resident
  • Passage
  • Summer
  • Winter
Jack snipe distribution map

These birds usually arrive in the UK between September and November, leaving again in February and March.

  • jan
  • feb
  • mar
  • apr
  • may
  • jun
  • jul
  • aug
  • sep
  • oct
  • nov
  • dec

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RSPB Giving Nature a Home Campaign

Flow Country Partners

We've secured the purchase of Forsinard and Dyke, and can now start vital restoration of damaged peatland back to bog.

We spend 90% of net income on conservation, public education and advocacy

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© The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

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