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Wilson's Snipe | Gallinago delicata
Amerikaanse watersnip | Agachadiza de Wilson
Wilson's Snipe is a stocky, well-camouflaged wader with a very long, straight bill. In winter it lives hidden in wet grassland, marsh edges and rice fields of Mexico and northern Central America, both in the lowlands and high in the mountains. It is usually noticed only when it flushes almost underfoot and zigzags away with a rasping call.
Voice
When flushed a rasping, hoarse scaip or kretch, often repeated once or twice. The bleating sound of the display flight is rarely heard in the guide area.
Recording: Dag Österlund — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
23–28 cm, of which 6–7 cm is bill. Short-legged and stocky, with a large head and a very long, straight bill. The head is boldly striped, with a dark crown with a pale central stripe, a pale supercilium and a dark eye-stripe. The upperparts are dark brown with four pale longitudinal stripes, the breast is streaked brown, the flanks are barred black and white and the belly is white. In flight pointed wings with a narrow, pale trailing edge and a short, rusty tail. The sexes are alike.
Confusion species
Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus and Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus also have long, straight bills, but are grey in non-breeding plumage, without head stripes, feed in the open on mudflats and in shallow water, and show a white wedge on the back in flight. No other snipes occur in the guide area.
Habitat
Wet and flooded grassland, marsh edges with low vegetation, rice fields, ditches, lake and pond shores, wet pasture and boggy mountain meadows up to high elevations. Probes soft mud with its long bill for worms, insect larvae and other small animals, usually close to cover.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of Mexico and Central America.
Range and movements
In winter widespread over almost all of Mexico, including Baja California and the plateau, and in Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. Scarce further south, to Costa Rica and rarely Panama. Outside the guide area the species breeds in Alaska, Canada and the northern United States and also winters in the United States, the Antilles and north-western South America.
- Winter visitor (c. Oct–Mar)
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Wet pasture and rice fields with low, tussocky vegetation are the best places. Resting birds are almost invisible thanks to their camouflage; walking slowly along the edge of a wet patch usually flushes birds, and the rasping call confirms the species.
Conservation status
Not threatened. The species is widespread and numerous. Drainage of wet grassland and marshes affects its habitat locally.
Scientific name
Gallinago delicata | (Ord, 1825)
Ord described the species in 1825 as Scolopax delicata; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Gallinago was introduced in 1760 by Brisson. Gallinago is New Latin for a snipe, from Latin gallina 'hen' and the suffix -ago 'resembling'. delicata is Latin for 'dainty, delicate'. The specimen the first description was based on came from Pennsylvania.