Jack Snipe
Lymnocryptes minimus
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
50 g
About This Species
A small, secretive wading bird of wet grassland, bogs and marsh edges across Europe and Asia, notoriously difficult to see thanks to cryptic, striped plumage that blends into rushes and mud. It typically sits tight and only flushes at very close range, rising with a soft, low flight quite unlike the zigzagging escape of the similar Common Snipe. Wet, muddy margins at dawn or dusk during the non-breeding season offer the best chance of a sighting.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Because this species relies on staying hidden rather than fleeing early, walking wet margins slowly and scanning ahead reduces the risk of flushing a bird from very close range, which can be stressful and energetically costly for it, especially in cold weather.
- Wetland habitats used by wintering waders are often protected sites with access restrictions, so check and follow any local guidance before entering marginal ground.
LCAvesCharadriiformesScolopacidae
Seasonal Activity
147,242 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 50 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.