Waterbird Wednesday week 14: ageing Common Snipe
It's now September and so we're back into peak waterbird season. This means weekly Waterbird Wednesday blogs will resume! For those who don't know, these blogs talk about identification of waterbird species. For those who aren't so interested in bird ID, these blogs aren't for you! However you can see my other blogs here. This week's blog covers ageing of the Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), a species I have written about before, however recently I have learnt far more about this species. I hope that this version of that blog will be more complete and informative.
The Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is a resident in many parts of the UK, with a large breeding population in the northern uplands but smaller numbers elsewhere. They tend to breed in boggy areas such as moorland bogs and marshes, as well as meadows. In total there are about 80'000 breeding pairs, but in the winter thousands of birds arrive from further north and the population swells to around 1 million individuals. During this time they are more widespread and are found in many wetland habitats. The Common Snipe is currently amber listed due to recent declines.
Identification
A distinctive wader, characterised by it's long, straight bill, dumpy body and small head. Often seen when flushed from bogs or marshes, when it is identified by it's small size, pointed wings, fast wingbeats and diagnostic 'zig-zag' flight pattern. When seen well, it's cryptic plumage can be studies. The upperparts are brown, with four buff lines running down the bird's back. The head pattern is striking, with dark lores, a weak dark eye-stripe, strong buff supercilium and a dark cap with a buff crown stripe. The breast is buff with light spots/ streaks, with barring on the flanks. The belly is white.
Adult
Adults and young birds can be difficult to separate. However there are a few methods to identify the two ages. These are by looking at the scapulars, tertials and lesser/median coverts. First, let's go through the tertials. Adult-type tertial feathers have a pattern of dark brown and buff bars, with a large pale tip. Late in the year, young birds may have moulted some of their tertials and will show a contrast between adult and juvenile type tertials. Adult-type tertials can be seen in this adult Common Snipe that I photographed last week at Low Newton.
Next onto the lesser/median wing coverts. Adult-type coverts have a wide buff tip, with a wide split at the shaft. This split creates the effect that the feather has two buff tips. Like with the tertials, later in the year some young birds will have partially moulted the wing coverts. These individuals will show a contrast between adult and juvenile-type coverts. Here is the same adult bird with the lesser/median coverts highlighted:
Though the scapulars can also be used to age Common Snipe, I find tertials and wing coverts easier to use. Adult-type scapulars have a broader buff edging than in juvenile feathers. Again, young birds will have partially moulted the scapulars later in the season and show a moult contrast.
Juvenile and 1st-winter
Juvenile and first winter birds are separated from adults using the tertials, scapulars and lesser/median coverts. Firstly, the tertials have a different patterning, with broad dark bands and very thin rusty lines. The end comes to a thin white fringe rather than a broad pale tip. Later in the year, many 1st-winter birds will have partially moulted the tertials, and so will show a contrast between juvenile and adult-type feathers. Juvenile-type tertials can be seen on this 1cy bird I photographed at Low Newton on the same day:
Personally, I find the lesser/median coverts the most useful feature when ageing Common Snipe. Juvenile-type coverts have a very different patter to adults, with a thin buff edging with a very narrow break at the shaft that is almost unnoticeable. Again, 1st-winter birds show a contrast between adult and juvenile type wing coverts. Juvenile-type coverts can be seen in the same photograph:
The final difference between adult and young birds is the scapulars. Juvenile-type scapulars have a much thinner pale edging. First-winter birds often show a contrast between adult and juvenile-type scapulars. The scapulars of the 1cy bird I have used to show the other features are not very clearly juvenile-type, so I have shown both that bird and a bird from a different photograph, from the same day.
Now that you know three different ways of ageing Common Snipe, you can out your skills to the test with these three individuals:
From top-bottom, 1cy, adult, 1cy.
Thanks for reading, I hope you found this blog informative! All information was found in Martin Garner's Challenge Series: Autumn. For more similar blogs, stay tuned - these Waterbird Wednesday blogs should (fingers crossed!) be posted weekly until the end of March.
