Description

Voice

A sharp, rasping scaip! when flushed.

Habitat

Freshwater marshes, ponds, flooded meadows, and fields; more rarely in salt marshes.

Nesting

4 pale olive-brown eggs, spotted with black, concealed in a grass-lined depression in a grass tussock in a marsh.

Other

Although the Common Snipe generally migrates in flocks at night, during the day the birds scatter and usually feed alone. They seek food early in the morning and in late afternoon, and seem to be more active on cloudy days. In addition to the alarm note described above, these birds have a variety of calls heard only on the breeding ground, and they perform a spectacular aerial territorial display in which the feathers of the tail produce an eerie whistling sound.

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