Double snipe
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Double snipe (Gallinago media) |
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| ( Latham , 1787) |
The double snipe ( Gallinago media ) is a species of bird from the genus of the common snipe ( Gallinago ) in the family of snipe birds (Scolopacidae). In north-eastern Central Europe the double-tailed godwit is a breeding and summer bird. Outside of the breeding areas, the double-tailed godwit is a rare, but sometimes regular migrant in Central Europe. During the train times, it can be observed in Brandenburg, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, for example.
Because of the continuing decline in the population in Central and Eastern Europe, the IUCN classifies the double-tailed godwit as near threatened .
features
The double snipe is 27-29 cm long, has a wingspan of 42 to 46 cm and a weight of 150 to 260 g. It is therefore more powerfully built than the common snipe , has a stronger but shorter beak and two white wing bands.
The plumage is speckled brown above and lighter below. A dark line runs from the base of the beak to the eye.
Outside the courtship grounds, double snipes are mostly mute. Startled birds only occasionally let out a quick, throaty croak. The vocal repertoire during the arenabalz, however, is much more extensive. A faint bubbling that can only be heard a few meters away can be heard from the males. In addition, twittering and clicking sounds can be heard, which finally change into a loud, vibrating whistle.
Occurrence
The double-tailed snipe breeds in damp moors , on river valleys and on bare areas in the coniferous forest zone of Eurasia from Norway to the Yenisei . One of the most important European breeding areas is the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park , where around 400 breeding pairs breed. Poland is the only Central European country to have a breeding population of double snipes. This was estimated at 750 to 850 breeding pairs at the beginning of the 21st century. Double snipes migrate long distances and overwinter in the Sahel and southern Africa. Very few birds hibernate in Europe, most of them hibernating in a hibernation area that encompasses the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west and south of Tanzania, Angola, Zambia and Malawi. A less significant wintering area is in West Africa from Mali to Chad.
The main migration of the Scandinavian and Finnish populations runs broadly in a north-south direction through Eastern Europe. In Nigeria, the species can be seen most frequently from August to September and in Kenya from mid-October to mid-November. The spring migration sets in very late, with individual birds still in Zambia in April. However, the home migration is very fast and the breeding areas are reoccupied from May to early June.
behavior
The food of the double snipe consists mainly of earthworms, mollusks, insects (including their larvae) and seeds.
The double snipe has an elaborate courtship ritual in which up to ten and, in rare cases, up to 20 males gather for communal courtship in certain places. The courtship repertoire includes both singing and flutter jumps, in which two males jump one to two meters at the same time. If a female appears in the territory of a male, the male approaches with lively flutter jumps and courtship singing. This behavior also attracts the males from the neighboring territories, which leads to chase flights and numerous arguments between the males. A firm pair bond does not develop.
The nest is a shallow nest hollow, padded with some grass and moss, which is usually well hidden in dense vegetation. The clutch consists of three to four eggs. The breeding season is 22 to 24 days and only the female parent bird breeds. The young birds are kept for 21 to 28 days.
Inventory development
Double snipe also occurred in northern Germany in the 19th century. From the middle of the 19th century, however, there was a drastic decline in stocks in Central Europe. In Denmark the breeding population already died out in 1902. The last German breeding birds were in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the 1930s. In the 1970s, the stocks in Finland, Lithuania and Latvia also died out almost completely. In large areas of the Ukraine as well as in western and southern Russia and in numerous lowland areas of western Poland, stocks also fell dramatically. The existing Polish breeding population breeds in largely undestroyed river valleys in central and eastern Poland. The total European population is estimated at 62,000 to 170,000 breeding pairs at the beginning of the 21st century. The largest stocks are in the European part of Russia with 50,000 to 140,000 breeding pairs as well as Belarus with 4,600 to 6,000 breeding pairs and Norway, where between 5,000 and 15,000 pairs are still breeding.
Inventory forecast
The double snipe is one of the species that will be particularly hard hit by climate change. A research team that, on behalf of the British environmental authority and the RSPB, examined the future development of the distribution of European breeding birds on the basis of climate models, assumes that the range will shrink considerably by the end of the 21st century and shift to the northeast. The distribution area will decrease in Scandinavia, among other places. In Central Europe, however, the species will be completely absent.
supporting documents
literature
- Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds. Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 .
- Peter Colston , Philip Burton: Limicolen - All European wader species, identifiers, flight images, biology, distribution. BlV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-405-13647-4 .
- Simon Delany, Derek Scott, Tim Dodman, David Stroud (Eds.): An Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia. Wetlands International , Wageningen 2009, ISBN 978-90-5882-047-1 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Gallinago media in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- ↑ Peter Colston, Philip Burton: Limicolen - All European wading bird species, identifiers, flight images, biology, distribution. BlV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-405-13647-4 , p. 164.
- ↑ Simon Delany, Derek Scott, Tim Dodman, David Stroud (Eds.): An Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia. Wetlands International , Wageningen 2009, ISBN 978-90-5882-047-1 , p. 276.
- ↑ Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds , Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 , p. 483.
- ↑ Delany et al., P. 273.
- ↑ a b Colsten et al., P. 165.
- ↑ Bauer et al., Pp. 482-483.
- ^ Brian Huntley, Rhys E. Green, Yvonne C. Collingham, Stephen G. Willis: A Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds , Durham University, The RSPB and Lynx Editions, Barcelona 2007, ISBN 978-84-96553-14-9 , P. 188
Web links
- English page about the double snipe
- Feathers of the double snipe
- Gallinago media in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on December 22 of 2008.