The Common Snipe

Common Snipe

Common Snipe

Common Snipe (Gallinago colchicus) nest in the northern Palearctic from central Europe and north, in Iceland, UK, Faroe Islands, the Azores and in much of Russia and northern India. The northern poulations are migratory birds. Pale western Arctic breeding birds are wintering in areas around the Mediterranean, also in Northern Africa and the Atlantic coast while Asian breeding birds spend the winter in India, China, Southeast Asia and the Philippines. The birds that breed in Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands and parts of France are resident birds.

The breeding population of the Azores is extinct.

The Common Snipe forage in soft mud, probing or picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects and earthworms, also some plant material.