Wilson's snipe

Scientific name: Gallinago delicata

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

A cryptically patterned shorebird with heavily streaked and barred brown, buff, and blackish plumage providing excellent camouflage in wet grass. The bird features a very long straight bill (6–7 cm), split supercilium, and orange-buff outer tail feathers visible in flight; no significant sexual dimorphism in plumage.

Size and weight

Weight 80–100 g; body length 24–27 cm. Males average slightly smaller than females (≈5 g difference), but overlap is considerable.

Habitat

Wilson's snipe inhabits wet meadows, marshes, bog edges, and marshy shorelines with soft, muddy substrate and sparse to moderate vegetation. They prefer areas from sea level to mid-elevation zones with year-round water access or seasonal flooding.

Distribution

Breeds across northern North America from Alaska and Canada south through the northern and central United States; winters in southern United States, Central America, and northern South America. Favors marshy breeding grounds and milder wetlands during migration and winter.

Diet

Primarily probes soft mud and shallow water for invertebrates including earthworms, aquatic insect larvae, amphipods, and small gastropods; diet is largely consistent year-round but shifts toward available macroinvertebrates seasonally.

Behaviour

Most active during dawn and dusk but also hunts during overcast days and night; solitary or in loose pairs outside breeding season. Generally sedentary in mild winters but migratory across much of range; flushes with erratic, zigzag flight when disturbed.

Hunting tips

Look for probe marks and droppings in soft mud at marsh edges and wet meadow patches to locate concentrations. Approach into wind using low grass, cattails, or bank cover; snipe hold tight until nearly underfoot, then flush suddenly. Hunt during low-light hours in extensive marshes where birds have less clear escape cover.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 2 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.