Solitary Snipe
Gallinago solitaria
The Solitary Snipe (Gallinago solitaria) is a rare sandpiper found in 13 countries, weighing about 140 g. The solitary snipe is a small stocky wader.
About the Solitary Snipe
The solitary snipe is a small stocky wader. It is found in the Palearctic from northeast Iran to Korea and Japan.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The solitary snipe is a heavy snipe 29–31 cm long with a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Its upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with medium brown stripes and whitish edges to the feathers forming lines down its back. The face is whitish. The breast is ginger-brown and the belly is white with brown barring on the flanks. The brown and black bill is long, straight and fairly slender. The legs and feet are yellowish-olive to yellowish-brown. All plumages are similar, but females average larger. There are two quite similar subspecies. Nominate G. s.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United States.
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, November, December, with peak activity in February. It is a winter visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Solitary Snipe?
- The solitary snipe is a heavy snipe 29–31 cm long with a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Solitary Snipe?
- The Solitary Snipe is a medium sized bird weighing about 140 g.
- Where can you see a Solitary Snipe?
- The Solitary Snipe occurs in 13 countries, including India, China, Japan, South Korea and Bhutan.
- What birds look similar to a Solitary Snipe?
- The Solitary Snipe is most easily confused with the Jameson's Snipe, the Giant Snipe and the Madagascar Snipe.
- Is the Solitary Snipe endangered?
- The Solitary Snipe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Solitary Snipe for real
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