Jameson's snipe or the Andean snipe, is a small, stocky wader. It breeds in the Andes in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. It appears to be entirely sedentary, with no evidence of migration.
Region
Andes Mountains
Typical Environment
Occurs in high Andean wetlands and moorlands of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Favours saturated bogs, marshy valleys, and tussock grasslands with soft soils for probing. Often found near peat bogs, seeps, and stream margins within paramo and puna zones. Uses dense vegetation for concealment and nesting, and open wet flats for foraging.
Altitude Range
2500–4500 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Jameson's snipe, also called the Andean snipe, is a stocky, high-Andes wader specialized for life in wet paramo and puna grasslands. Like other snipes, it performs crepuscular display flights, producing a distinctive drumming or bleating sound with its tail feathers. It is largely sedentary throughout its range from Venezuela to Bolivia, and relies on dense, wet tussock vegetation for cover. Its exceptionally long, sensitive bill allows it to probe deep, waterlogged soils for invertebrates.
Temperament
secretive and cryptic
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with zigzag flush; aerial display with drumming
Social Behavior
Typically solitary or in pairs during the breeding season, nesting on the ground among dense tussocks. The nest is a shallow scrape lined with vegetation, and the clutch usually contains 2–4 eggs. Adults rely on crouching and sudden explosive flushes to evade predators.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Calls include soft chips and harsher rasping notes when alarmed. During display flights at dusk and dawn, it produces a characteristic bleating or drumming sound caused by air passing over modified outer tail feathers.
