Overview
The common snipe (Gallinago gallinago, formerly also known as Gallinago cælestis) is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World, where it breeds in marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows. It is usually shy and well-camouflaged, foraging in soft mud mainly for insects and earthworms but also some plant material. During courtship, males perform a "winnowing" display; flying high in circles and then taking shallow dives to produce a "drumming" sound by vibrating the tail feathers.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Continents
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bhutan
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- China
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Faroe Islands
- Finland
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guam
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Mauritania
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Philippines
- Poland
- Qatar
- Republic of the Congo
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Somalia
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
- Zambia
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Common snipe
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.

