Gallinago gallinago

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	SCOLOPACIDAE

Scientific Name:

Gallinago gallinago

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Common Snipe, Snipe
French	–	Bécassine des marais

Taxonomic Notes:

Gallinago gallinago (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) was split into G. gallinago and G. delicata by Banks et al. (2002), on the basis of 'differences in the winnowing display sounds and morphology', and recognised as separate by AOU (2002) and SACC (2005), but this treatment is not followed by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group because the morphological differences are limited to the number and width of tail feathers and, as Mueller (1999) makes clear, there is overlap between the two forms in these characters. Although the differences between gallinago and delicata drumming have been described as 'strong', it is not clear that these do not come from the two ends of a Holarctic 'ring' (eastern USA and western Europe). The BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group therefore favours non-recognition of delicata as a species, pending playback experiments and more information from areas of reported breeding in areas of local sympatry.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Ferrand, Y.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2009	–	Least Concern
2008	–	Least Concern
2005	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Not Recognized
2000	–	Not Recognized

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species has a large global population estimated to be >5,400,000-7,500,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2002).
Countries:	Native: Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Antigua and Barbuda; Armenia (Armenia); Aruba; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belarus; Belgium; Belize; Bermuda; Bhutan; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cambodia; Cameroon; Canada; Cayman Islands; Central African Republic; Chad; China; Colombia; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Costa Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Croatia; Cuba; Curaçao; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El Salvador; Eritrea; Estonia; Ethiopia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Greece; Greenland; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guam; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Hong Kong; Hungary; Iceland; India; Indonesia; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait; Kyrgyzstan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Latvia; Lebanon; Liberia; Libya; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Malta; Martinique; Mauritania; Mexico; Moldova; Mongolia; Montenegro; Montserrat; Morocco; Myanmar; Nepal; Netherlands; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; Northern Mariana Islands; Norway; Oman; Pakistan; Palestinian Territory, Occupied; Panama; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Qatar; Romania; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin (French part); Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia (Serbia); Sierra Leone; Singapore; Sint Maarten (Dutch part); Slovakia; Slovenia; Somalia; South Sudan; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Suriname; Sweden; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Taiwan, Province of China; Tajikistan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Togo; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Turks and Caicos Islands; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; Uzbekistan; Venezuela; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Yemen Vagrant: Benin; Cape Verde; Ecuador; Equatorial Guinea; Gibraltar; Malawi; Seychelles; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; United States Minor Outlying Islands; Zambia
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The global population is estimated to number c.6,300,000-8,100,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2006), while national population estimates include: c.10,000-100,000 breeding pairs, c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.1,000-10,000 wintering individuals in China; c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.1,000-10,000 wintering individuals in Taiwan; c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.50-1,000 wintering individuals in Korea; c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.1,000-10,000 wintering individuals in Japan and c.10,000-1 million breeding pairs and >c.1,000 individuals on migration in Russia (Brazil 2009).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population:

The global population is estimated to number c.6,300,000-8,100,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2006), while national population estimates include: c.10,000-100,000 breeding pairs, c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.1,000-10,000 wintering individuals in China; c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.1,000-10,000 wintering individuals in Taiwan; c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.50-1,000 wintering individuals in Korea; c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.1,000-10,000 wintering individuals in Japan and c.10,000-1 million breeding pairs and >c.1,000 individuals on migration in Russia (Brazil 2009).

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour This species is fully migratory although some populations only migrate short distances (del Hoyo et al. 1996). It breeds from April to August (Hayman et al. 1986) in solitary territorial pairs and after breeding it moves to moulting areas before migrating south to the wintering grounds (del Hoyo et al. 1996). It is not a truly gregarious species (Snow and Perrins 1998) although it usually forages in small groups (del Hoyo et al. 1996), occasionally also gathering in larger flocks of several hundred during migration or in the winter (Hayman et al. 1986). The species is also generally crepuscular in its activities (del Hoyo et al. 1996). Habitat Breeding The species breeds on fresh or brackish marshland with rich or tussocky vegetation (Hayman et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996) including grassy or marshy edges of lakes and rivers (del Hoyo et al. 1996), marshy bogs and moors (Johnsgard 1981), marshy tundra, wet meadows (del Hoyo et al. 1996), peat bogs, fens, swamps (North America) (Johnsgard 1981) and swampy forest (Flint et al. 1984). Non-breeding In its wintering range the species frequents similar habitats to those it breeds in (Hayman et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996) including permanent and temporary swamps, the marshy edges of lakes and dams, flooded sedge and grassland (Grishanov 2006), also utilising more artificial habitats such as damp farmland (Hayman et al. 1986) (e.g. cattle pastures, sugar-cane fields (Johnsgard 1981), rice-fields (del Hoyo et al. 1996)), sewage farms (del Hoyo et al. 1996) and drainage ditches (Johnsgard 1981). The species may also move to more coastal areas such as the upper reaches of estuaries and coastal meadows (del Hoyo et al. 1996) during periods of frost (Snow and Perrins 1998). Diet Its diet consists of adult and larval insects, earthworms, small crustaceans (del Hoyo et al. 1996) (e.g. isopods and amphipods) (Johnsgard 1981), small gastropods, spiders (del Hoyo et al. 1996), small amphibians (Africa) (Grishanov 2006) and occasionally plant fibres, seeds and grit (Johnsgard 1981). Breeding site The nest is a shallow scrape (Snow and Perrins 1998) positioned on dry ground in marshes, fens, swamps and bogs (Johnsgard 1981) (e.g. on a mound or sedge tuft) (Flint et al. 1984) in the cover of grass, rushes, sedge or sphagnum moss (del Hoyo et al. 1996). The species nests in solitary territorial pairs at densities of between 10 and 38 or up to 110 pairs per kilometre (del Hoyo et al. 1996). Management information Studies in Danish coastal wetlands found that the spatial restriction of shore-based shooting was more successful at maintaining waterfowl population sizes than was the temporal restriction of shooting, and therefore that wildfowl reserves should incorporate shooting-free refuges that include adjacent marshland in order to ensure high waterbird species diversity (Bregnballe et al. 2004). The species is known to show increased hatching successes when ground predators have been excluded by erecting protective fences around nesting areas (Jackson 2001). At a reserve in the UK management strategies such as reseeding grasslands to be dominated by rushes Juncus spp. and purple moor-grass Molinia caerulea, mechanical cutting and grazing, digging small scrapes and maintaining high water-levels succeeded in attracting an increased number of breeding pairs to the area (Holton and Allcorn 2006). The annual success of reproduction is estimated every year by wing surveys in Denmark since the 1970s and in France since the mid-1990s (Clausager 2006). Hunting bags are estimated every year in Denmark (Clausager 2006).
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour This species is fully migratory although some populations only migrate short distances (del Hoyo et al. 1996). It breeds from April to August (Hayman et al. 1986) in solitary territorial pairs and after breeding it moves to moulting areas before migrating south to the wintering grounds (del Hoyo et al. 1996). It is not a truly gregarious species (Snow and Perrins 1998) although it usually forages in small groups (del Hoyo et al. 1996), occasionally also gathering in larger flocks of several hundred during migration or in the winter (Hayman et al. 1986). The species is also generally crepuscular in its activities (del Hoyo et al. 1996). Habitat Breeding The species breeds on fresh or brackish marshland with rich or tussocky vegetation (Hayman et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996) including grassy or marshy edges of lakes and rivers (del Hoyo et al. 1996), marshy bogs and moors (Johnsgard 1981), marshy tundra, wet meadows (del Hoyo et al. 1996), peat bogs, fens, swamps (North America) (Johnsgard 1981) and swampy forest (Flint et al. 1984). Non-breeding In its wintering range the species frequents similar habitats to those it breeds in (Hayman et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996) including permanent and temporary swamps, the marshy edges of lakes and dams, flooded sedge and grassland (Grishanov 2006), also utilising more artificial habitats such as damp farmland (Hayman et al. 1986) (e.g. cattle pastures, sugar-cane fields (Johnsgard 1981), rice-fields (del Hoyo et al. 1996)), sewage farms (del Hoyo et al. 1996) and drainage ditches (Johnsgard 1981). The species may also move to more coastal areas such as the upper reaches of estuaries and coastal meadows (del Hoyo et al. 1996) during periods of frost (Snow and Perrins 1998). Diet Its diet consists of adult and larval insects, earthworms, small crustaceans (del Hoyo et al. 1996) (e.g. isopods and amphipods) (Johnsgard 1981), small gastropods, spiders (del Hoyo et al. 1996), small amphibians (Africa) (Grishanov 2006) and occasionally plant fibres, seeds and grit (Johnsgard 1981). Breeding site The nest is a shallow scrape (Snow and Perrins 1998) positioned on dry ground in marshes, fens, swamps and bogs (Johnsgard 1981) (e.g. on a mound or sedge tuft) (Flint et al. 1984) in the cover of grass, rushes, sedge or sphagnum moss (del Hoyo et al. 1996). The species nests in solitary territorial pairs at densities of between 10 and 38 or up to 110 pairs per kilometre (del Hoyo et al. 1996). Management information Studies in Danish coastal wetlands found that the spatial restriction of shore-based shooting was more successful at maintaining waterfowl population sizes than was the temporal restriction of shooting, and therefore that wildfowl reserves should incorporate shooting-free refuges that include adjacent marshland in order to ensure high waterbird species diversity (Bregnballe et al. 2004). The species is known to show increased hatching successes when ground predators have been excluded by erecting protective fences around nesting areas (Jackson 2001). At a reserve in the UK management strategies such as reseeding grasslands to be dominated by rushes Juncus spp. and purple moor-grass Molinia caerulea, mechanical cutting and grazing, digging small scrapes and maintaining high water-levels succeeded in attracting an increased number of breeding pairs to the area (Holton and Allcorn 2006). The annual success of reproduction is estimated every year by wing surveys in Denmark since the 1970s and in France since the mid-1990s (Clausager 2006). Hunting bags are estimated every year in Denmark (Clausager 2006).

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The species is threatened by habitat changes such as wetland drainage (del Hoyo et al. 1996) and grassland improvement (del Hoyo et al. 1996) (e.g. through drainage, inorganic fertilising and reseeding) (Baines 1988). Important migratory stop-over habitats in the Kaliningrad region of Russia are also threatened by petroleum pollution, wetland and flood-plain drainage (for irrigation and water management), peat-extraction, reedbed mowing and burning, and abandonment and changing land management practices leading to scrub and reed overgrowth (Grishanov 2006). The species suffers from lead poisoning as a result of ingesting lead shot deposited on wetlands (Mateo et al. 1998, Mondain-Monval et al. 2002, Olivier 2006), suffers nest predation by introduced mammals (e.g. European hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus) on islands (Jackson 2001), and is susceptible to avian influenza so may be threatened by future outbreaks of the viurs (Melville and Shortridge 2006). Utilisation The species is hunted for sport (e.g. in Denmark) (Bregnballe et al. 2006).

Major Threat(s):

The species is threatened by habitat changes such as wetland drainage (del Hoyo et al. 1996) and grassland improvement (del Hoyo et al. 1996) (e.g. through drainage, inorganic fertilising and reseeding) (Baines 1988). Important migratory stop-over habitats in the Kaliningrad region of Russia are also threatened by petroleum pollution, wetland and flood-plain drainage (for irrigation and water management), peat-extraction, reedbed mowing and burning, and abandonment and changing land management practices leading to scrub and reed overgrowth (Grishanov 2006). The species suffers from lead poisoning as a result of ingesting lead shot deposited on wetlands (Mateo et al. 1998, Mondain-Monval et al. 2002, Olivier 2006), suffers nest predation by introduced mammals (e.g. European hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus) on islands (Jackson 2001), and is susceptible to avian influenza so may be threatened by future outbreaks of the viurs (Melville and Shortridge 2006). Utilisation The species is hunted for sport (e.g. in Denmark) (Bregnballe et al. 2006).

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Gallinago gallinago. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2013.
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