Magellanic snipe
Magellanic snipe | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Scolopacidae |
Genus: | Gallinago |
Species: | G. magellanica
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Binomial name | |
Gallinago magellanica (King, PP, 1828)
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The Magellanic snipe (Gallinago magellanica) is a
Taxonomy and systematics
The taxonomic history of the
This article follows the IOC definition of a
Description
The Magellanic snipe's face has distinct tan and darker brown stripes. Its upperparts have a complex pattern of muted whitish, buffy, rufous, and black on a brown background. Its breast has fine vermiculation and its flanks have dark and light barring. The upper surface of its tail is rufescent with irregular bars and white tips. It has a long, thick, dull pinkish bill with a black tip. Its legs are yellowish.[5]
Distribution and habitat
The Magellanic snipe is found from north-central Chile and northwestern Argentina south into
Behavior
Movement
The Magellanic snipe is a partial migrant. The Tierra del Fuego population mostly moves north for the austral winter, as do some individuals of the mainland population. They reach northeastern Argentina and Uruguay at that time. Some birds overwinter on the Falklands but most of that population apparently migrates to the mainland.[5]
Feeding
The Magellanic snipe forages by probing in mud. Their diet of invertebrates is not known in detail but includes insect larvae and earthworms.[5]
Breeding
The Magellanic snipe's breeding season varies geographically. On the mainland it appears to span from August to November. On the Falklands it is mainly from August to October. The male performs a winnowing display during courtship, flying high in circles and then taking shallow dives to produce a distinctive sound. The female makes a nest as a shallow depression, usually in grass and close to water. The typical clutch size is two eggs. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known.[5]
Vocal and non-vocal sounds
The Magellanic snipe has a very wide variety of vocalizations including a chip call "kek..kek..kek..kek..kek...", a chipper call "raspy notes repeated at steady pace ...rek..kek....rek...kek....rek..kek...", a flight call "short raspy note, repeated at irregular intervals ..kek......kek...", and a flush call "KEK.kek.kek.....kek.kek...". The chip and chipper calls are typically made from the ground or near it such as from a fence post. The species' non-vocal winnowing is made by air flowing over the outer tail feathers during flight. It is described as "a series of pulses that increase in duration and amplitude over the sound, with pulses organized as multiples (typically couplets with different duration)." It lasts two to five seconds and is repeated about every 10 seconds.[5]
Status
The
References
- ^ a b c Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (August 2022). "Sandpipers, snipes, Crab-plover, coursers". IOC World Bird List. v 12.2. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ a b HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6b. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6b_Jul22.zip retrieved December 5, 2022
- ^ a b c Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022
- ^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022
- ^ a b c d e f Van Gils, J., P. Wiersma, G. M. Kirwan, P. C. Rasmussen, and P. F. D. Boesman (2021). Magellanic Snipe (Gallinago magellanica), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. C. Rasmussen, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.soasni3.01 retrieved December 8, 2022
- . Retrieved 7 December 2022.