Wilson's snipe
Gallinago delicata (Ord, 1825)
The wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata) is a species in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 102 g to 116 g and live up to 10.8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the wilson's snipe
- Weight
- 102 g – 116 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 40 cm – 47 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 10.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 18.2 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 19 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3 – 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 wilson's snipe?
Where does the wilson's snipe live?
Not recorded
What is the wilson's snipe?
Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata) is a small, stocky shorebird. The generic name Gallinago is Neo-Latin for a woodcock or snipe from Latin gallina, "hen" and the suffix -ago, "resembling". The specific name delicata is Latin for "dainty".
This species was considered to be a subspecies of the common snipe (G. gallinago) until 2003 when it was given its own species status, though not all authorities recognized this immediately. Wilson's snipe differs from the latter species in having a narrower white trailing edge to the wings, and eight pairs of tail feathers instead of the typical seven of the common snipe. Its common name commemorates the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson.
From the Wikipedia article “Wilson's snipe” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wilson%27s_snipe&oldid=1326385687), 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.
Is the wilson's snipe endangered?
The wilson's 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. What the categories mean.
How is the wilson's snipe classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae
- genusGallinago
- SpeciesGallinago delicata (Ord, 1825)
Synonyms Capella delicata, Capella gallinago delicata, Charadrius damarensis, Gallinago cayennensis, Gallinago gallinago delicata, Gallinago gallinao delicata, Gallinago wilsoni, Gallinago wilsonii, Scolopax brehmii, Scolopax delicata, Scolopax douglasii, Scolopax drummondi, Scolopax fasciolata, Scolopax gallinagoides, Scolopax leucura, Scolopax trachydactyla, Scolopax wilsonii
Other names and names in other languages (66)
- American snipeEnglish
- Common snipeEnglish
- SnipeEnglish
- Wilson´s snipeEnglish
- Wilson’s snipeEnglish
- شنقب ويلسونArabic
- Gallinago delicataBulgarian
- Американска бекасинаBulgarian
- Gioc'h WilsonBreton
- becadell de WilsonCatalan
- Америка йымынтӓгӓMari
- bekasina severoamerickáCzech
- bekasina otavní americkáCzech
- gïach AmericaWelsh
- Amerikansk BekkasinDanish
- WilsonbekassineGerman
- Amerikanische BekassineGerman
- Wilson-BekassineGerman
- Amerika galinagoEsperanto
- nordamerika galinagoEsperanto
- BecasinaSpanish
- Agachadiza de WilsonSpanish
- Agachona comúnSpanish
- Agachona NorteamericanaSpanish
- Becacina ComúnSpanish
- Guineita GrandeSpanish
- GuineítoSpanish
- kukukuaqCentral Yupik
- ameerika tikutajaEstonian
- amerikantaivaanvuohiFinnish
- Bécassine de WilsonFrench
- Naoscach macliamIrish
- Naoscach MheiriceánachIrish
- Coar heddagh AmericaanaghManx
- Bekasin janm koutHaitian Creole
- tamnokrila šljukaCroatian
- amerikai sárszalonkaHungarian
- FlóasnípaIcelandic
- beccaccino di WilsonItalian
- Beccaccino nordamericanoItalian
- アメリカタシギJapanese
- Vilsono perkūno oželisLithuanian
- amerikinis perkūno oželisLithuanian
- Kanādas mērkaziņaLatvian
- IndianerbekkasinNorwegian Bokmål
- WatersnipDutch
- Amerikaanse watersnipDutch
- kanadabekkasinNorwegian
- Snepi di AwaPapiamento
- bekas amerykańskiPolish
- Bekas AmerykanskiPolish
- narceja-neárticaPortuguese
- Narceja-americanaPortuguese
- narceja-de-wilsonPortuguese
- Американский бекасRussian
- močiarnica krátkokrídlaSlovak
- Američka barska šljukaSerbian
- wilsonbeckasinSwedish
- amerikansk beckasinSwedish
- Wilson SuçulluğuTurkish
- Wilson bataklık çulluğuTurkish
- Бекас ВільсонаUkrainian
- баранець американськийUkrainian
- 威氏鹬Chinese
- 威爾森氏沙錐Chinese
- 美洲沙锥Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the wilson's snipe
Other species in the same genus Gallinago.
Common snipe
Gallinago gallinago
Great snipe
Gallinago media
Pin-tailed snipe
Gallinago stenura
Solitary snipe
Gallinago solitaria
Swinhoe's snipe
Gallinago megala
Wood snipe
Gallinago nemoricola
CompareWilson's snipe vs Common snipeWilson's snipe vs Great snipeWilson's snipe vs Pin-tailed snipeWilson's snipe vs Solitary snipe
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the wilson's snipe?
An adult wilson's snipe weighs 102 g – 116 g and has a wingspan of 40 cm – 47 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the wilson's snipe endangered?
The wilson's snipe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the wilson's snipe live?
The wilson's snipe has a recorded lifespan of 10.8 years.
What kind of animal is the wilson's snipe?
The wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata) belongs to the family Scolopacidae in the order Charadriiformes.
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). Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/wilsons-snipe
“Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/wilsons-snipe.
@misc{wilsons_snipe_2026,
title = {Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/wilsons-snipe},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}