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A photo of a Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus)
Jack Snipe

Jack Snipe

Lymnocryptes minimus

The Jack Snipe or jacksnipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) is a small stocky wader. It is the smallest snipe, and the only member of the genus Lymnocryptes. Features such as its sternum make it quite distinct from other snipes or woodcocks. Adults are smaller than common snipe and have relatively shorter bill. The body is mottled brown on top and pale underneath. They have a dark stripe through the eye. The wings are pointed and narrow, and yellow back stripes are visible in flight. When seen, the distinctive bobbing movement, as if the bird is on springs, has an almost hypnotic quality. The head pattern of jack snipe differs from common snipe and other species in the genus Gallinago, in that there is no central crown-stripe; instead, there are two pale lateral crown-stripes, which are separated from the supercilium by an area of dark plumage. Jack snipes are migratory, spending the non-breeding period in Great Britain, Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal Europe, Africa, and India. The jack snipe is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Their breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows with short vegetation in northern Europe and northern Russia.
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Similar species

A photo of a Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
Snipe
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Jack Snipes on Birda

Photos

Sightings

A map showing the sighting location
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Emma Wakelin
Sunday 24 Sep 2023 - 10:22am
United Kingdom
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Layla’jeanne Shanley
Layla’jeanne Shanley
Sunday 24 Sep 2023 - 8:22am
United Kingdom
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Daniel Baumber
Daniel Baumber
Saturday 16 Sep 2023 - 6:44am
United Kingdom
A photo of a Jack Snipe photographed in Upton Warren WWT NR--Flashes United Kingdom
Profile picture for Shaun Clark
Shaun Clark
Tuesday 22 Aug 2023 - 10:44am
United Kingdom
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