Common snipe

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Common snipe
Head markings and beaks of four common snipe species in Asia

Head markings and beaks of four common snipe species in Asia

Systematics
Trunk : Chordates (chordata)
Sub-stem : Vertebrates (vertebrata)
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Plover-like (Charadriiformes)
Family : Snipe birds (Scolopacidae)
Genre : Common snipe
Scientific name
Gallinago
Brisson , 1760
Common snipe

The common snipe or swamp snipe ( Gallinago ) are a genus from the family of snipe birds (Scolopacidae). Most species are very similar, with a very long, slender beak and brownish-patterned plumage that provides good camouflage. They usually live well hidden in relatively densely overgrown habitats and are particularly noticeable during the breeding season at dawn and dusk due to their courtship flights, during which peculiar sounds are generated by the outer tail feathers. They feed primarily on invertebrates and feel and grab their prey by poking movements in the ground or in fine mud.

Fossil skeletal remains of some as yet undescribed species of the genus Gallinago , which are very similar to the double snipe , were excavated in deposits (approx. 5 mya ) from the late Miocene or early Pliocene in Lee Creek Mine / USA .

description

The representatives of the genus Gallinago are medium-sized snipe birds with a probing bill more than 50 mm long, the tip of which is somewhat flattened and provided with numerous Herbst bodies . The eyes are relatively high on the skull, but not as high as the woodcock. The ear opening is very far in front of the skull, just below the eye. Due to the peculiar structure of the skull, the brain is everted backwards and downwards so that the base is oriented upwards.

The legs are relatively short compared to other snipe birds, but longer than those of the woodcock . The tibiotarsus is quite short and feathered in the lower part, the tarsometatarsus covered on the back with horn plates. The rear toe with claw is well developed. There are no tension membranes between the toes. The wings are relatively slender and narrow. The tail is rounded and the number of control feathers, in contrast to other Limikolenarten, increased to 14-18. The outer ones are quite narrow and stiffened. They are used to generate sound during courtship flight and can be turned sideways into the wind by strong muscles. An exception is the double snipe ( G. media ), which has no Flugbalz. The largest number of control feathers has the Spießbekassine ( G. stenura ) with 26–28 . The outer ones are narrow, pin-shaped in this species.

The plumage of the common snipe has a predominantly brownish dark pattern on the upper side with contrasting light, mostly yellowish beige longitudinal stripes on the head and back, which optimally dissolve the shape of the bird in the confusing, dry stalks of grass ( somatolysis ). The differentiation of the plumage characteristics is very low within the genus. With the exception of four South American species, whose appearance and way of life partly resemble the woodcock and which are therefore also described by some authors as "aberrant", all species are very similar and some cannot be distinguished from one another in the field. The most important distinguishing feature is the shape of the control springs, which also differ significantly in very similar species. Further differentiating features are the under wing coverts, the facial markings and the extent of the bands on the flanks and abdomen.

  • Control feathers of various snipe species - an important species identification feature

  • The banding of the lower wings offers a further possibility for differentiation

  • The outer control springs can be spread apart by means of strong muscles

  • They have a special design and are used to generate sound in the Flugbalz

distribution

The breeding distribution of snipes extends across all continents with the exception of Australia and Antarctica . The greatest biodiversity is found in the Palearctic and the Neotropical , with seven species each . One species populates the Nearctic and two the Afrotropic region . The species of the temperate zone and the Himalayas are mostly migratory birds that overwinter in the subtropical and tropical zones. The wintering areas of the forest cassin and the Japan cassin also extend over parts of Australia.

Systematics

In the 18th century, the snipe species known at the time were placed together with today's woodcock in the genus Scolopax established by Linnaeus . In 1816, Carl Ludwig Koch proposed a separate genus called Gallinago . This comes from a translation of the Greek word ho scolópax (= snipe) by Theodoros Gazes . The word has a linguistic similarity to the Latin gallina (= chicken). In the 1920s the priority of the name was questioned and from 1950 the name Capella, first used by Johann Samuel Traugott Frenzel in 1801, was considered valid. It refers to the sometimes goat-like "grumbling" of snipes during courtship flight and means "little goat" or "little kid". In 1952 Arthur Francis Hemming found out that Mathurin-Jacques Brisson had already used the name Gallinago in his work Ornithologia in 1760 . After some disputes, the resolution passed in 1956 by the International Commission of Zoological Congress that the name Capella Frenzel, 1801 in favor of Gallinago Brisson, should be suppressed in 1760 , finally prevailed and today there is probably general consensus.

species

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Reddig (1981), p. 8f, see literature
  2. ↑ Glutz von Blotzheim, p. 25, see literature
  3. ↑ Reddig (1981), p. 9f, see literature
  4. ↑ a b Reddig (1981), p. 7f, see literature
  5. ↑ Viktor Wember: The names of the birds in Europe - meaning of German and scientific names , Aula Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2007, ISBN 3-89104-709-6 , p. 118

Web links

Commons : Gallinago  - collection of images, videos and audio files