Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) 14 November 2009 at Coyote Point, San Mateo, SM Photo © 2009 Joseph Morlan

This secretive species was formerly lumped with the Common Snipe (G. gallinago) of Eurasia. However it differs in its courtship display flight, and the winnowing sounds made by its attenuated outer rectrices during courtship. It also differs slightly in plumage and has more and narrower rectrices cf. Common Snipe. Snipe tend to be more active at dusk and dawn. During the day, they are easy to overlook as they sit still in the marsh vegetation. Their very long bill is used to probe for worms and other invertebrates in the mud. The tip of the bill can be opened independently of the rest of the bill so that the birds can grab tasty morsels from the mud. This is a feature called "rhynchokinesis." Digiscoped with Panasonic DMC-LZ5 | Nikon FieldScope 3 | 30X WA | hand-held (no adapter) | borrowed batteries

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