| Gallinago | ||||||||||||
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Capella |
Gallinago is a genus of birds in the wader family Scolopacidae. These snipe are all similar, with a very long slender bill and cryptic plumage. Most have distinctive displays, usually given at dawn or dusk. They search for invertebrates in the mud with a "sewing-machine" action of their long bills.
Species in taxonomic order
- Solitary Snipe, Gallinago solitaria
- Latham's Snipe, Gallinago hardwickii
- Wood Snipe, Gallinago nemoricola
- Pintail Snipe, Gallinago stenura
- Swinhoe's Snipe, Gallinago megala
- African Snipe, Gallinago nigripennis
- Madagascar Snipe, Gallinago macrodactyla
- Great Snipe, Gallinago media
- Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago
- Wilson's Snipe, Gallinago delicata
- South American Snipe, Gallinago paraguaiae
- Noble Snipe, Gallinago nobilis
- Giant Snipe, Gallinago undulata
- Fuegian Snipe, Gallinago stricklandii
- Andean Snipe, Gallinago jamesoni
- Imperial Snipe, Gallinago imperialis
Fossil bones of some undescribed Gallinago species most similar to the Great Snipe have been recovered in Late Miocene or Early Pliocene deposits (c. 5 mya) of Lee Creek Mine, USA.
References
- Hayman, Marchant and Prater, Shorebirds ISBN 0-7099-2034-2
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