Common snipe
Gallinago gallinago (Linnaeus, 1758)
The common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is a small bird of the family Scolopacidae in the order Charadriiformes. It is a migratory, terrestrial bird of wetland habitats and a carnivore classed as an aquatic predator.
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Quick facts about the common snipe
Adults weigh 112.9 g, with reported values from 100.5 to 128 g, and have a wingspan of 52 cm. It lays one clutch of 4 eggs per year, incubated for 19 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 100.5 g – 128 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 52 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 12.3 years – 18.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 19 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 15 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the common snipe?
Photos of the common snipe
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the common snipe live?
Not recorded
What is the common snipe?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Common snipe” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_snipe&oldid=1357301114), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the common snipe sound like?
Is the common snipe endangered?
The common snipe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common snipe classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae
- genusGallinago
- SpeciesGallinago gallinago (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Capella gallinago, Gallinago burka, Gallinago caspia, Gallinago coelestris, Gallinago latipennis, Gallinago nilotica, Gallinago sakhalina, Gallinago scolopacina, Gallinago scolopacinus, Gallinago uniclavata, Gallino gallino, Scolopax brehmii, Scolopax delamottei, Scolopax gallinaria, Scolopax gallinaria, Scolopax media, Scolopax peregrina, Scolopax picta, Scolopax pygmaea, Scolopax sabinii var. obscura, Scolopax saturata
Other names and names in other languages (142)
- COSNEnglish
- Heather BleatEnglish
- Horse GowkEnglish
- Mire snipeEnglish
- SnipeEnglish
- SniteEnglish
- شنقب شائعArabic
- الجهلول العادي(الشنقب)Arabic
- BecardónAragonese
- GachaAsturian
- GatsaAsturian
- Adi tənbəlcüllütAzerbaijani
- ҺаралйынBashkir
- БакасBelarusian
- КръшкачBulgarian
- Средна бекасинаBulgarian
- Gioc'h-lannBreton
- becadell comúCatalan
- ЙымынтӓгӓMari
- Шур такиChuvash
- bekasina otavníCzech
- gïach cyffredinWelsh
- Gïachod CyffredinWelsh
- dobbeltbekkasinDanish
- DobbeltbekkasinenDanish
- BekassineGerman
- HimmelsziegeGerman
- SumpfschnepfeGerman
- CavarténEmilian
- ΜπεκατσίνιGreek
- Κοινό ΜπεκατσίνιGreek
- (Κοινό) ΜπεκατσίνιGreek
- ordinara galinagoEsperanto
- Agachona comúnSpanish
- Agachadiza comúnSpanish
- TaevasikkEstonian
- TikutajaEstonian
- tikutaja e. taevasikkEstonian
- Istingor arruntBasque
- Istingor arruntaBasque
- پاشلک معمولیPersian
- taivaanvuohiFinnish
- MyrisnípaFaroese
- mýrisnípaFaroese
- Bécassine des maraisFrench
- StongerNorthern Frisian
- WaarlamkeWestern Frisian
- Naoscach coiteannIrish
- naosgScottish Gaelic
- bocain-lòinScottish Gaelic
- bocan-lòinScottish Gaelic
- BudagochdScottish Gaelic
- gabhair-adhairScottish Gaelic
- gabhar-adhairScottish Gaelic
- naoisgScottish Gaelic
- naoscachScottish Gaelic
- BecacinaGalician
- Becacina cabraGalician
- Coar heddaghManx
- חרטומית בצותHebrew
- חרטומית ביצותHebrew
- חרטומית הביצותHebrew
- šljuka kokošicaCroatian
- sárszalonkaHungarian
- ՄորակտցարArmenian
- Berkik ekor kipasIndonesian
- Berkik ekor-kipasIndonesian
- HrossagaukurIcelandic
- beccaccinoItalian
- タシギJapanese
- ჩიბუხაGeorgian
- Сыр-сырKabardian
- Таарғайkjn
- ТауқұдыретKazakh
- ТауқұдіретKazakh
- 꺅도요Korean
- HerîsorikKurdish
- KyoghCornish
- BekassinnLuxembourgish
- perkūno oželisLithuanian
- paprastasis perkūno oželisLithuanian
- mērkaziņaLatvian
- юмынтагаMari
- тагагайыкMari
- Шлука бекасинаMacedonian
- обична бекасинаMacedonian
- വിശറിവാലൻ ചുണ്ടൻകാടMalayalam
- BekkaċċMaltese
- Шөвгөн хараалжMongolian
- पाणलावाMarathi
- सामान्य पाणलावाMarathi
- Burung Berkek Ekor KipasMalay
- पानी चाहाNepali
- watersnipDutch
- enkeltbekkasinNorwegian Nynorsk
- BatashkaanzheOjibwa
- Suvenlammasolo
- МæгаOssetic
- BécachènePicard
- bekasPolish
- (bekas) kszykPolish
- bekas kszykPolish
- kszykPolish
- پکھی پونجا چہاWestern Panjabi
- narceja-comumPortuguese
- NarcejaPortuguese
- narceja-eurasiáticaPortuguese
- Becassina da palìRomansh
- BecaținaRomanian
- becaţină comunăRomanian
- Becațină comunăRomanian
- бекасRussian
- баранчикRussian
- барашекRussian
- Обыкновенный бекасRussian
- ҮгүрүөYakut
- MeahkástatNorthern Sami
- močiarnica mekotaváSlovak
- kozicaSlovenian
- shepkujcaAlbanian
- shapka e ujitAlbanian
- shaptorja e ujitAlbanian
- shepka e ujitAlbanian
- Barska šljukaSerbian
- Барска шљукаSerbian
- Barska šljuka - Барска шлјукаSerbian
- MäidhanneSaterland Frisian
- enkelbeckasinSwedish
- SululuSwahili
- விசிறிவால் உள்ளான்Tamil
- นกปากซ่อมหางพัดThai
- su culluguTurkish
- su çulluğuTurkish
- Баалаар-дылбыйTuvinian
- Баранець звичайнийUkrainian
- Звичайний баранецьUkrainian
- BecanòtoVenetian
- Dẽ giun thườngVietnamese
- 田鷸Chinese
- 扇尾沙錐Chinese
- 扇尾沙锥Chinese
- 田鷸〔扇尾沙錐〕Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common snipe
Other species in the same genus Gallinago.
Great snipe
Gallinago media
Pintail snipe
Gallinago stenura
Solitary snipe
Gallinago solitaria
Swinhoe's snipe
Gallinago megala
Snipe
Gallinago delicata
Wood snipe
Gallinago nemoricola
CompareCommon snipe vs Great snipeCommon snipe vs Pintail snipeCommon snipe vs Solitary snipeCommon snipe vs Swinhoe's snipe
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common snipe?
The common snipe is a small bird in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. It is migratory and lives in wetland habitats.
How heavy is the common snipe?
An adult common snipe weighs 112.9 g, with reported values from 100.5 to 128 g. Its wingspan is 52 cm.
What does the common snipe eat?
The common snipe is a carnivore classed as an aquatic predator.
Is the common snipe endangered?
No. The common snipe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the common snipe live?
The common snipe has a lifespan of 12.33 years, and our sources report up to 18.2 years.
How many eggs does the common snipe lay?
The common snipe lays 4 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 19 days.
When does the common snipe reach sexual maturity?
The common snipe reaches sexual maturity at 1.1 years, with reported values from 1.0 to 1.2 years.
Who named the common snipe?
The common snipe, Gallinago gallinago, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-snipe
“Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-snipe.
@misc{common_snipe_2026,
title = {Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-snipe},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}