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Swinhoe's Snipe
(Gallinago megala)
: "Chinese Snipe", "Marsh Snipe", "Forest Snipe"
Size: 27-29 cm; wing span 38-44 cm
Weight: 125-160 g
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Similar
species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Swinhoe's Snipes are medium-sized waders.
Their plumage is
highly cryptic,
with colours ranging from creamy hues to dark-brown.
Most of the plumage
is brown, except for a dark-brown crown, eye-stripes and cheek
stripes on the head, heavy dark-brown scalloping on the front
and flanks. The dark-brown wing feathers have brown edge lining.
The belly, vent and undertail coverts are creamy.
When seen in Australia, Latham's Snipes are usually in
eclipse
plumage,
with duller colours and less less contrast than during the
breeding season.
The eyes have dark irises. Swinhoe's Snipes have a dark-tipped, long
and straight brownish bill that is about twice as long as the size
of the head. The legs and feet are yellowish-grey.
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Twitcher's tip |
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Unless the tail pattern can be studied in detail, the three species
Latham's Snipe,
Swinhoe's Snipe and Pin-tailed Snipe (not shown here yet) are
indistinguishable in the field.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Swinhoe's
Snipe at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
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The global distribution of Swinhoe's Snipe is available
HERE
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Swinhoe's Snipes are non-breeding migrants to the Australian
continent from the northern hemisphere, where their breeding
grounds are mostly in central and southern Siberia and Mongolia.
(Note that the scarcity of reported sightings in their breeding
grounds is probably mostly due to a lack of reporting birdwatchers,
rather than birds.)
In Australia, Swinhoe's Snipes occasionally reach the entire
far-tropical
North of the continent, with associated off-shore islands, from the Kimberley
in WA, through the Top End of the NT, around the southern end
of the Gulf of Carpentaria, to basically all of Cape York
peninsula (up to about Cape Melville) in QLD. Occasionally,
they also reach the Gascoyne in north-western WA, as far
inland as the springs of the major rivers in that area.
While in Australia, Swinhoe's Snipes have a preference for
wetlands with shallow fresh or brackish water, mud and plant
cover, such as
billabongs and
lagoons, but also including sewage treatment plants.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
B. Hensen reports spotting a Swinhoe's Snipe at McMinns Lagoon,
near Humpty Doo, NT, in January 2016.
P. Brown also found Swinhoe's Snipe at McMinns Lagoon, near Humpty
Doo, NT, in March 2021.
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Photos |
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The identification of this species was made solely based on the
fact that no
Latham's Snipe
has ever been confirmed in the Top End of the NT, while
Swinhoe's Snipe is known to be a non-breeding visitor.
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ADULT |
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NON-BREEDING |
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Partly obscured near-frontal view of a Swinhoe's Snipe in
non-breeding plumage
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[McMinns Lagoon, Darwin, NT, January 2016]
Near-lateral view of a Swinhoe's Snipe in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[McMinns Lagoon, Darwin, NT, January 2016]
Partly obscured lateral view of a Swinhoe's Snipe in non-breeding
plumage stretching
one of its wings
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[McMinns Lagoon, Darwin, NT, January 2016]
Lateral view of a Swinhoe's Snipe in non-breeding
plumage hiding in a
shady spot (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[McMinns Lagoon, Darwin, NT, March 2021]
Near-dorsal view of a Swinhoe's Snipe in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[McMinns Lagoon, Darwin, NT, March 2021]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
