Puna Snipe
Encyclopedia
The Puna Snipe, Gallinago andina, is a small, stocky wader
. It breeds in the Andes
of northern Peru
to northwestern Argentina
and northern Chile
. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the South American Snipe
.
has a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Its upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with warm brown and buff, and the gold edges to the feathers form lines down its back. It shows pale to whitish underwings when in flight. The belly is white with brown barring. The horn-colored bill is long, straight and fairly robust. The legs and feet are yellow. The sexes are similar, and immatures differ only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts.
Little is known of its behaviour, but it has an aerial display, which involves flying high in circles, followed by a dive during which the bird makes a drumming
sound, caused by vibrations of its modified outer tail feathers.
The Puna Snipe forages by pushing its long bill deep into the mud seeking insects and worms. Its cryptic plumage provides effective camouflage when the bird stands motionless amongst marsh vegetation.
Scolopacidae
The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...
. It 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...
of northern 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....
to northwestern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and northern Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the South American Snipe
South American Snipe
The South American Snipe or Magellan Snipe, Gallinago paraguaiae, is a small, stocky wader. Its taxonomic position is complicated, sometimes treated as a race of Common Snipe...
.
Description
This 30-32 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 upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with warm brown and buff, and the gold edges to the feathers form lines down its back. It shows pale to whitish underwings when in flight. The belly is white with brown barring. The horn-colored bill is long, straight and fairly robust. The legs and feet are yellow. The sexes are similar, and immatures differ only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts.
Behaviour
Little is known of its behaviour, but it has an aerial display, which involves flying high in circles, 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 vibrations of its modified outer tail feathers.
The Puna Snipe forages by pushing its long bill deep into the mud seeking insects and worms. Its cryptic plumage provides effective camouflage when the bird stands motionless amongst marsh vegetation.