African snipe
| African snipe | ||||||||
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African snipe ( Gallinago nigripennis ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||
| Gallinago nigripennis | ||||||||
| Bonaparte , 1839 |
The African snipe ( Gallinago nigripennis , also: Ethiopian snipe or African snipe , Ethiopian snipe) is a species of bird from the family of snipe birds (Scolopacidae). It breeds in moist mountain moors and swamps in Africa at 1700–4000 m above sea level . Outside of the breeding season, it wanders far and wide and descends as far as the coastal plains.
description
The snipe becomes 30–32 cm long and has a stocky body with relatively short legs. The top, head and neck are striped and patterned with wide dark stripes and golden brown edges of the feathers. The stripes continue over the back over the back. The belly is white with some brown bands on the flanks. The pink-brown beak is very long, straight and quite robust. Legs and feet are yellow-olive or greenish-gray. The sexes are of the same color and the juvenile specimens differ only in pale spots on the wing covers.
The call is a hliip when it takes off and is supplemented by a long- lasting kip in the breeding season. In flight, the white tips of the wings and the tips of the tail are noticeable.
The African snipe can be confused with the three migrating species of snipe found in this area: common snipe , pike snipe and double snipe .
Subspecies
There are three subspecies:
- G. n. Aequatorialis , ( Rüppell , 1845), which is common from Ethiopia to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo , eastern Zimbabwe and northern Mozambique .
- G. n. Angolensis , ( Barbosa du Bocage , 1868), which occurs from Angola , across northern Namibia to Zambia and into western Zimbabwe .
- G. n. Nigripennis , ( Bonaparte , 1839), in southern Mozambique and South Africa .
behavior
The African snipe builds a bowl-shaped nest out of dry grass in drier areas of the swampy breeding areas. The nest is covered with a dense wad of grass or rushes. The breeding seasons are coordinated with the tropical rains, but usually extend to the period between April and October in South Africa.
In courtship the bird shows a remarkable flight image with high circling flights and a powerful nosedive, during which a drum-like noise can be heard, which is caused by vibrations of the outer tail feathers.
The African snipe is quite common in suitable swamps and wetlands. It sticks deep into the mud with its long beak in search of insects and worms. If it is frightened, it freezes and its camouflaging fletching dissolves its contours, so that it merges with the environment, so to speak. If the escape distance is not reached, it flees with a quick zigzag escape.
literature
- Hayman, Marchant and Prater: Shorebirds . ISBN 0-395-37903-2
- Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey, Warwick Tarboton: SASOL Birds of Southern Africa . Struik 2002. ISBN 1-86872-721-1
- SASOL e-guide
Web links
- Ethiopian snipe / African snipe - Species description in the Atlas of Southern African Birds .