The Fuegian snipe also known as the cordilleran snipe, is a small stocky wader. It breeds in south-central Chile and Argentina south to Tierra del Fuego. It is mainly sedentary, but the Tierra del Fuego population winters in mainland Chile.
Region
Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego
Typical Environment
Occurs from south-central Chile and adjacent Andean Argentina south to Tierra del Fuego. Prefers saturated habitats including peat bogs, marshy meadows, moorland, and the wet margins of Nothofagus forests. Often uses tussock grasslands and sphagnum bogs with soft ground suitable for probing. In winter, some individuals from Tierra del Fuego move to coastal wetlands and lowland marshes on mainland Chile.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2000 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the Cordilleran snipe, this stocky wader inhabits bogs and wet grasslands from south-central Chile and Argentina to Tierra del Fuego. It is mostly sedentary, though birds from Tierra del Fuego shift to mainland Chile in winter. Like other snipes, males perform dramatic crepuscular display flights that produce a haunting ‘winnowing’ sound from their tail feathers. Its cryptic plumage makes it exceptionally hard to see unless flushed at close range.
Temperament
solitary and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with zigzag escape flight; aerial display with drumming ‘winnow’
Social Behavior
Typically solitary or in dispersed pairs during breeding. Nests are shallow ground scrapes hidden in dense vegetation; clutch size is small and chicks are precocial. Males perform dusk and dawn display flights over territories, and parents remain attentive to chicks after hatching.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations include soft chip and scape calls when flushed. The most conspicuous sound is the non-vocal ‘winnowing’ produced by air over the tail feathers during display flights at dusk and dawn.
