Wilson's snipe is a small, stocky shorebird. The generic name Gallinago is Neo-Latin for a woodcock or snipe from Latin gallina, "hen" and the suffix -ago, "resembling". The specific name delicata is Latin for "dainty".
Region
North America
Typical Environment
Breeds widely across boreal and temperate North America, especially in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States. Winters in the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and parts of the Caribbean, using a wide array of freshwater wetlands. Prefers marshes, bogs, wet meadows, and the muddy margins of ponds and streams with dense low vegetation. During migration it frequents flooded fields and damp agricultural lands. It relies on soft substrates for probing and dense cover for concealment.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 3000 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Wilson's snipe is famed for its haunting ‘winnowing’ display sound, produced by air rushing over its outspread outer tail feathers in flight. It flushes at close range with a zigzag, erratic escape flight that makes it hard for predators—and hunters—to track. Its long bill is highly sensitive and can open at the tip while the base remains closed, allowing precise probing in soft mud. Formerly treated as conspecific with the Common Snipe of Eurasia, it is now recognized as a distinct North American species.
Wilson's snipe feeding
Temperament
secretive and wary
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with erratic zigzags; dramatic aerial display with winnowing
Social Behavior
Mostly solitary or in loose, small groups outside the breeding season. Nests on the ground in dense cover near wetlands; typically lays four eggs. Both parents may tend the precocial young, which feed themselves soon after hatching.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Display flights produce a haunting, tremulous ‘winnowing’ generated by the outer tail feathers. Calls include a sharp, rasping ‘scaip’ when flushed and softer chattering notes around wetlands.
