Common Snipe
Gallinago gallinago
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
- FamilyScolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies)
- GenusGallinago (Typical Snipes)
- SpeciesGallinago gallinago (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. Wikipedia →
5–10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Snipe sighting in Cairngorms National Park, based on 191 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Cairngorms National Park
Eurasian Curlew
Numenius arquata
Common Sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucos
Common Redshank
Tringa totanus
Green Sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
Red-necked Phalarope
Phalaropus lobatus
Eurasian Woodcock
Scolopax rusticola
Dunlin
Calidris alpina
Common Greenshank
Tringa nebularia
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Sanderling
Calidris alba
Black-tailed Godwit
Limosa limosa
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpres
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Common Snipe in Cairngorms National Park?
About 7% of wildlife watchers report a Common Snipe sighting in Cairngorms National Park, based on 191 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Common Snipe in Cairngorms National Park?
June has the highest sighting rate for Common Snipe in Cairngorms National Park in our monthly data.