Species Profile
The Wilson’s snipe is a small, stocky shorebird (and game bird) that can be easily confused with a woodcock. Snipe are slightly smaller in size than woodcock with adults measuring 10 to 12 inches in length with a 16 – to 17-inch wingspan. Like woodcock, the body is mottled brown on top. However, snipe can be distinguished by their dark vertical stripes running longitudinally over the head and body and their pale undersides. They have a dark stripe through the eye, with light stripes above and below it. The wings are pointed.
Snipe forage in soft mud, probing or picking up food by sight. They may eat insects, earthworms and plant material. This well-camouflaged bird is usually shy and conceals itself within vegetation. They flush only when approached closely, flying off in a series of aerial zigzags with a harsh scaipe call.
Pennsylvania habitats tend to be more open than the forested areas preferred by woodcock and include marshes, wet meadows and pastures. Snipe in the East migrate to the southern United States and to northern South America. The male performs a “winnowing” display during courtship and in defense of territory, flying high in circles and then taking shallow dives to produce a distinctive sound made by the wind rushing over modified tail feathers with each wingbeat. Snipe nest in a well-hidden location on the ground. The clutch size is almost always four eggs. The male snipe leaves the nest with the first two chicks to hatch. The female takes the last two and cares for them. Apparently the parents have no contact after that point.
Like woodcock, populations of this once-popular game bird have been reduced by habitat loss as wet pastures and meadows were drained for development or allowed to grow into forests.
