Imperial Snipe
Gallinago imperialis
Hulking snipe of high-elevation elfin forest in the Andes. Large with a thick, drooping bill. Upperparts are black with bold cinnamon scaling; underparts are buff with black scaling, becoming paler on belly. It is larger, bulkier, and more brightly-colored than other high-Andean snipe. Shy and rarely seen; most likely encountered in dim, misty conditions when it may venture out onto a quiet trail. At display sites, birds fly overhead giving low, grating calls followed by a mechanical humming sound.
Identification
This 29–31 cm (11–12 in) long snipe has a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Its adult plumage is dark rufous brown except for the lower belly and undertail, which are white with heavy brown barring. The grey bill is long, straight and fairly robust, and the legs and feet are grey. The sexes are similar. The juvenile plumage is unknown, but in most snipes species, young birds differ from adults only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts.<p>In flight, the imperial snipe looks heavy, broad-winged and short-tailed, and the banded belly contrasts with the dark breast and underwing. It has a shatteringly loud raucous song in its display flight, starting with single notes and moving on to double or triple notes.<p>Compared with other snipes with an overlapping range, the imperial snipe is obviously larger than the Magellan snipe, which has clear pale stripes on its back and lacks barring on the lower belly. The race which occurs in the Andes, Gallinago paraguaiae andina also has yellow legs.<p>The Andean snipe, Gallinago jamesoni, is similar in build to the imperial snipe, but is paler on the throat and underwings, and has a less contrasted lower belly.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Gallinago imperialis
- Authority
- Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1869
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Gallinago
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The imperial snipe occurs around the tree-line at 2,745–3,700 m (9,006–12,139 ft) altitude in mosaic habitats consisting of a mixture of bogs, mossy areas, moist elfin forest, tree-ferns and tall grass. Little is known about its habits and it is mostly observed when displaying.<p>The dawn and dusk aerial display involves flying high in circles performing the extremely loud song. This is followed by a dive during which the bird makes a drumming sound caused by the vibrations of its modified outer tail feathers.<p>The imperial snipe's diet is unknown, but other snipe species forage for insects and worms by probing with their long bills.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-hooded Coucal
Centropus steerii
A large, long-tailed bird of lowland primary forest on Mindoro with a brown back and belly, dark wings with brown-edged feathers, a dark tail with a bluish iridescence, and a black hood with some light streaking on the back of the neck. Note the strong curved bill. Similar to Philippine Coucal, but has a brown rather than black belly and is restricted to primary forest rather than more open habitats. Song is a descending series of very deep hoots.
Collared Sunbird
Hedydipna collaris
A tiny, short-billed sunbird with a metallic-green back and a yellow belly. The male has a green throat and a narrow purplish breast band; the female is duller, with a yellow throat and no breast band. Pairs frequent forest edge, woodland, and savanna, where they join mixed-species flocks to glean leaves and hover to catch insect prey. But they will also feed on fruit and nectar, often by piercing the base of a flower and sucking out nectar without pollinating. The “yellow-bellied” races of Variable Sunbird differ from Collared Sunbird by being larger, with a longer bill and broader purple-blue breast band.
Buff-breasted Babbler
Pellorneum tickelli
Rather graceful-looking brown babbler with a long tail and long legs. Averages paler below than above, but generally unmarked. Inhabits foothill forests with dense undergrowth, where it forages close to or on the ground. Almost completely unmarked appearance distinguishes it from most other babblers in range. Listen for its loud, strident song, a repetitive “wit-wee, wit-wee, wit-wee.” Calls include rattling trills, a harsh descending laugh, and sharp single notes.
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