African snipe

Gallinago nigripennis

SUBFAMILY

Gallinagininae

TAXONOMY

Gallinago nigripennis Bonaparte, 1839, Cape of Good Hope. Three subspecies.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Ethiopian snipe; French: Bécassine Africaine; German: Afrikanische bekassine; Spanish: Agachadiza Africana.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

9.8–11.4 in (25–29 cm); 0.2–0.36 lb (90–164 g). Darker upper-parts contrast with white belly. Female similar to male but bill slightly longer.

DISTRIBUTION

G. n. aequatorialis: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Kenya and east DRC, south to east Zimbabwe and north Mozambique; G. n. angolensis: Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and west Zimbabwe; G. n. aequatorialis: south Mozambique and South Africa.

HABITAT

Wetlands with short emergent vegetation, tussocks, and exposed soft mud.

BEHAVIOR

Flushes with zigzag flight and harsh call. Male has display flight with "drumming" produced by vibrating outer tail feathers. In East Africa, nests at high altitudes and moves lower after breeding.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Mainly crepuscular or nocturnal forager, probing for worms and insect larvae.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Monogamous. Breeds mainly during or after rains. Nests in a pad of grass hidden in tussock on moist to flooded ground. Clutch consists of two to three eggs.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Locally common to abundant. Vulnerable to habitat loss through wetland destruction.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.