Common Snipe

Gallinago gallinago

The common snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World, where it breeds in marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows. It is usually shy and well-camouflaged, foraging in soft mud mainly for insects and earthworms but also some plant material. During courtship, males perform a "winnowing" display; flying high in circles and then taking shallow dives to produce a "drumming" sound by vibrating the tail feathers. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 33,724 times across 79 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

See the Common Snipe on the live map

Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 18°C (typically 13 to 22°C, from 12 areas).

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in Europe ranged from 55°N in December to 70°N in June, about 1,600 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.