The pin-tailed snipe or pintail snipe is a species of bird in the family Scolopacidae, the sandpipers.
Region
Northern Asia (breeding) and South & Southeast Asia (wintering)
Typical Environment
Breeds in boggy taiga and wet sedge meadows across Siberia into northeastern Mongolia and adjacent regions. During the non-breeding season it disperses widely across the Indian Subcontinent and mainland Southeast Asia, extending to the Malay Archipelago. It favors marshes, flooded grasslands, rice paddies, and the muddy margins of ponds and slow rivers. Dense cover is important, and birds often remain hidden until closely approached.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2000 m
Climate Zone
Other
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The pin-tailed snipe is a wary, cryptically patterned shorebird of the family Scolopacidae, often flushed from dense marsh vegetation at close range. It is notoriously difficult to distinguish in the field from Swinhoe’s snipe, with subtle differences in tail feather structure and calls aiding identification. During display flights on the breeding grounds, air rushing over narrowed tail feathers produces a distinctive drumming or winnowing sound. In winter it frequently uses rice paddies and wet fields, benefiting from shallow, muddy foraging areas.
Pintail snipe head and bill
Temperament
solitary and wary
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with zigzag escape flight
Social Behavior
Typically solitary or in loose, small groups, especially on migration and in winter feeding areas. Nests on the ground in wet tundra or taiga meadows, with a shallow scrape lined with vegetation. Courtship includes aerial displays with drumming produced by tail feathers. Both adults are secretive near the nest, relying on camouflage.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations include soft, rasping calls and a sharp scaap when flushed. On breeding grounds, the characteristic non-vocal drumming or winnowing sound is produced by air passing over specialized tail feathers during display flights.
