Snipe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Snipes | |
|---|---|
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| Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Scolopacidae |
| Genera | |
A snipe is any of nearly 20 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and cryptic plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the Coenocorypha snipes are found only in New Zealand. The three species of painted snipe are not closely related to the typical snipes, and are placed in their own family, the Rostratulidae.
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[edit] Taxonomy
The snipe make up part of the wader family Scolopacidae. The 15 typical snipes in the genus Gallinago are the closest relatives of the woodcocks, whereas the small genera Coenocorypha (the New Zealand snipes) and Lymnocryptes represent earlier divergences in the snipe/woodcock clade.[1]
[edit] Behavior
Snipe search for invertebrates in the mud with a "sewing-machine" action of their long bills. Most have distinctive displays, usually given at dawn or dusk.
[edit] Historical facts
The difficulties involved in hunting snipe gave rise to the term "sniper", referring to a skilled anti-personnel military sharpshooter. Also, referenced in the animated movie "UP".[2]
[edit] Genera
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Thomas, Gavin H.; Wills, Matthew A. & Székely, Tamás (2004): A supertree approach to shorebird phylogeny. BMC Evol. Biol. 4: 28. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-4-28 PDF fulltext Supplementary Material
- ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=s&p=29. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
[edit] External links
- Snipe videos on the Internet Bird Collection
