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  • Snipe

Snipe

Snipe
Snipe
  • Scientific name: Gallinago gallinago
  • Bird family: Sandpipers, snipes and phalaropes
  • UK conservation status: Amber
  • Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Snipe call audio

Your browser does not support this audio feature.

Patrik Aberg, xeno-canto

Key information

Snipe are medium sized, skulking wading birds with short legs and long straight bills. Both sexes are mottled brown above, with paler buff stripes on the back, dark streaks on the chest and pale under parts. They are widespread as a breeding species in the UK, with particularly high densities on northern uplands but lower numbers in southern lowlands (especially south west England). In winter, birds from northern Europe join resident birds.

The UK population of snipe has undergone moderate declines overall in the past twenty-five years, with particularly steep declines in lowland wet grassland, making it an Amber List species.

What they eat:

Small invertebrates, including worms and insect larvae.

Measurements:

Length:
23-28cm
Wingspan:
39-45cm
Weight:
80-120g

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 breeding:
80,000 pairs
UK wintering:
1 million birds

Identifying features:

Snipe

Snipe illustration
Feather colour: Black Brown Cream/buff White
Leg colour: Brown Green Yellow
Beak: Black Brown Long Thin
Natural habitats: Farmland Grassland Marine and intertidal Upland Wetland

Similar birds:

Jack Snipe
Jack snipe
Woodcock illustration
Woodcock

Where and when to see them

During the breeding season snipe are best look for on moorland, especially on early spring mornings when males can be heard giving their 'drumming' or 'bleating' display. In winter, look patiently around the edges of pools in well-vegetated wetlands.

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

Snipe can be seen all year round.

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

RSPB reserves

  • RSPB Otmoor Reserve
  • RSPB Beckingham Marshes
  • RSPB Greylake
  • RSPB Nene Washes
  • RSPB Loch of Spiggie
  • RSPB Lower Lough Erne Islands
  • RSPB Insh Marshes
  • RSPB Campfield Marsh
  • RSPB Amberley Wildbrooks
  • RSPB Cottascarth and Rendall Moss
  • RSPB Sandwell Valley
  • RSPB Ouse Washes
  • RSPB Onziebust

Video

A snipe uses its beak to search for food

A snipe uses its beak to search for food

Snipe video screenshot
A lapwing wading through water. It's beady eye is looking at you.

You can create more wonderful wetlands

We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to expand Otmoor reserve by buying neighbouring farmland. Your donation is urgently needed today, to protect this land from potential development and make it safe haven for wildlife.

Donate now

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