Listen to the Wilson's snipe
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Wilson's snipe
The Wilson's snipe is a bird in the family Scolopacidae (order Charadriiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 44 cm.
What does the Wilson's snipe sound like?
Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once. Songs tend to be long and patterned and are used to hold territory and attract a mate; calls are short signals for contact, alarm and flight.
The recordings here are labelled as song. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata) is a small, stocky shorebird. The generic name Gallinago is Neo-Latin for a woodcock or snipe from Latin gallina, "hen" and the suffix -ago, "resembling". The specific name delicata is Latin for "dainty".
This species was considered to be a subspecies of the common snipe (G. gallinago) until 2003 when it was given its own species status, though not all authorities recognized this immediately. Wilson's snipe differs from the latter species in having a narrower white trailing edge to the wings, and eight pairs of tail feathers instead of the typical seven of the common snipe. Its common name commemorates the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson.
Related birds in the genus Gallinago
More from the family Scolopacidae
Eurasian woodcock
Scolopax rusticola
Common redshank
Tringa totanus
Common sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucos
Eurasian curlew
Numenius arquata
Common greenshank
Tringa nebularia
Black-tailed godwit
Limosa limosa
Eurasian whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Green sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
Wood sandpiper
Tringa glareola
Dunlin
Calidris alpina
Frequently asked questions
What does a Wilson's snipe sound like?
You can hear 2 recordings of the Wilson's snipe on this page, including its song. Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once.
Is the Wilson's snipe endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Wilson's snipe as “least concern”.
What family does the Wilson's snipe belong to?
The Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata) belongs to the family Scolopacidae in the order Charadriiformes.
Sources & credits
- Song · "the Fen", near Churchill Northern Studies Centre… by Doug Hynes – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wilson's Snipe – Yellowstone National Park by NPS/Jennifer Jerrett – Public domain (NPS) · NPS
- Wikidata Q64927 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Wilson's snipe – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by en:User:Talshiarr (Sean Breazeal) – CC BY-SA 3.0