Imperial Snipe
Encyclopedia
The Imperial Snipe, Gallinago imperialis, is a small stocky wader
which breeds in the Andes
. For a century it was known only from two specimens collected near Bogotá
, Colombia
, and was presumed extinct, but it was rediscovered in Peru
in 1967 and Ecuador
in 1988. It is not known if it is migratory
.
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.
In flight, 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.
Compared with other snipe 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 paraguiaiae andina also has yellow legs.
Andean Snipe
, Gallinago jamesoni, is similar in build to Imperial, but is paler on the throat and underwings, and has a less contrasted lower belly.
The Imperial Snipe occurs around the tree-line at 2,745-3,700 m altitude in mosaic habitats consisting of a mixture of bogs, mossy areas, moist elfin forest, tree-ferns and tall grass. Little is known is known about its habits and it is mostly observed when displaying.
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.
The Imperial Snipe’s diet is unknown, but other snipe species forage for insects and worms by probing with their long bills.
This snipe’s habitat has been adversely affected by burning, grazing and conversion of páramo
to agriculture.
However, if the number of records and known sites continue to increase, the status of this species may be reclassified to Least Concern.
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
which breeds in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
. For a century it was known only from two specimens collected near Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, and was presumed extinct, but it was rediscovered in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
in 1967 and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
in 1988. It is not known if it is migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
.
Description
This 29–31 cm long snipeSnipe
A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...
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.
In flight, 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.
Compared with other snipe 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 paraguiaiae andina also has yellow legs.
Andean Snipe
Andean Snipe
The Andean Snipe, Gallinago jamesoni, is a small, stocky wader. It breeds in the Andes in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. It appears to be entirely sedentary, with no evidence of migration....
, Gallinago jamesoni, is similar in build to Imperial, but is paler on the throat and underwings, and has a less contrasted lower belly.
Behaviour
The Imperial Snipe occurs around the tree-line at 2,745-3,700 m altitude in mosaic habitats consisting of a mixture of bogs, mossy areas, moist elfin forest, tree-ferns and tall grass. Little is known is known about its habits and it is mostly observed when displaying.
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
Drumming (snipe)
Drumming is a sound produced by snipe as part of their courtship display flights. The sound is produced mechanically by the vibration of the modified outer tail feathers, held out at a wide angle to the body, in the slipstream of a power dive. The display is usually crepuscular, or given...
sound caused by the vibrations of its modified outer tail feathers.
The Imperial Snipe’s diet is unknown, but other snipe species forage for insects and worms by probing with their long bills.
Status
Having been considered extinct for over half a century, the Imperial Snipe has now been found at least six sites in Peru and twelve in Ecuador. Although it appears widespread on both east and west slopes in Ecuador and the east slope in Peru, it apparently occurs at very low densities (4-5 displaying within 1.6 km2 of suitable ridge-top habitat (Terborgh and Weske,1972)) and known populations are small and localised.This snipe’s habitat has been adversely affected by burning, grazing and conversion of páramo
Páramo
The term páramo can refer to a variety of ecosystems. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as “all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline”. A more narrow term classifies the páramo according to its regional placement - specifically located in “the northern Andes...
to agriculture.
However, if the number of records and known sites continue to increase, the status of this species may be reclassified to Least Concern.