Latham's Snipe
Gallinago hardwickii
Long-billed skulking shorebird of muddy edges in freshwater wetlands. Breeds in Japan and spends the nonbreeding season mainly in eastern Australia. When disturbed it erupts from cover with loud "chek" call and zig-zags away in flight. Can be extremely hard to identify from other Australian snipes (Pin-tailed and Swinhoe's); when possible focus on length of toes trailing behind tail in flight (Latham's has almost no toes projecting behind tail).
Identification
The snipe is 29–33 cm long, with a wingspan of 50–54 cm and weight of 150–230 g.<p>It is identifiable as a Gallinago snipe by its cryptically-patterned black, brown, buff and white plumage but, in the field, it is not easily distinguished from Swinhoe's and pin-tailed snipe, though it is slightly larger.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Gallinago hardwickii
- Authority
- (Gray, JE, 1831)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Gallinago
Range and habitat
The snipe breeds mainly in Hokkaidō in northern Japan, with smaller numbers on Honshū, the eastern Russian mainland and Sakhalin and, historically, the Kurile Islands. The entire population migrates and spends the non-breeding season principally in eastern Australia, where it is the commonest Gallinago snipe. It has been recorded on migration in Taiwan, the Philippines and New Guinea, and is a rare straggler to New Zealand.<p>The snipe's breeding habitat in Asia includes alpine moorland, grasslands, rough pasture, young tree plantations and cultivated areas. Non-breeding habitat in Australia is shallow freshwater wetlands of various kinds, with bare mud or shallow water for feeding and nearby vegetation cover for shelter.
- Breeding range
- PAL : meadows and fields of temperate ne Palearctic: e Amurland and s Sakhalin (se Russia) and s Kuril Is. s through Honshu and ?Kyushu (n to s Japan)
- Non-breeding range
- AU : tropical to temperate freshwater wetlands: e Australia including Tasmania
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Courtship consists of display flights and drumming by the males. It nests on the ground, concealed in vegetation, with a clutch of four eggs.<p>Latham's snipe is an omnivorous species that feeds on seeds and other plant material (mainly from species in families such as Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Juncaceae, Polygonaceae, Ranunculaceae and Fabaceae), and on invertebrates including insects (mainly flies and beetles), earthworms, spiders and occasionally molluscs, isopods and centipedes.
Conservation
Internationally, Latham's snipe is considered to be a species near threatened. In Australia it was previously hunted as a gamebird but is now fully protected and is listed as Vulnerable under the Australian EPBC Act, following assessment in the 2020. It is listed as "rare" under South Australia's National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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