Shy, Wary, Skulking Marsh-dweller… Latham’s Snipe

By Keith Hutton on December 22, 2015 in Other

Snipe are small to medium size, skulking, marsh-dwelling wading birds with very long bills and relatively short legs. There are three species that visit Australia between August and March each year, after breeding in the Northern Hemisphere. Latham’s Snipe, which is also known as Japanese Snipe, is the only one that has been observed in the Sydney region, following breeding that occurs mainly in northern Japan.

Latham’s Snipe are medium sized waders with cryptic plumage, about the same size as feral pigeons. They spend most of their time on the ground in swampy areas, where they are well camouflaged. Usually they freeze and sit tight when approached, or burst from cover with rapid zig-zag flight and a sharp, wheezy, grating call, then quickly drop down close by; or they tower up into the sky, sometimes repeating the alarm call, and fly further. When seen well they are intricately marked: rufous, black and buff, with bold brown stripes and cream streaks on the upper parts; flanks barred brown, and mostly white below. Sexes are alike year round, and juveniles and young birds resemble adults.

Latham’s Snipe are summer migrants to the whole of eastern Australia, west to the Eyre Peninsular and down to Tasmania. Virtually the total world population visits eastern Australia annually. They are non-breeding visitors in the southeast and passage migrants in the north. They occur singly or in loose parties in freshwater marshes, water meadows and sewage treatment plants, where they prefer soft wet ground, or shallow water with tussocks and other vegetation growth. Generally they are inconspicuous, but may be locally common. However, in the Sydney region they are scarce and may turn up in a range of suitable areas, such as those in Centennial Parklands, or any other vegetated, wet, swampy places in the Eastern Suburbs.

Latham’s Snipe feed by probing in soft mud with the sensitive flexible tip of their bill, mainly at dawn and dusk, and into the night. They are omnivorous and eat earthworms, spiders, flies, crickets and a whole range of different insects and their larvae, in addition to plant material, including seeds of grasses, sedges, rushes and reeds, together with those of many other flowering plants.

Hunting and modification of habitat have probably affected some populations. In Australia they were formally legally hunted, but now they are completely protected. Declines in abundance were recorded in Tasmania, coastal and northern NSW, and Victoria last century into the 1970s, followed by a slight but not significant increase. The national population has not changed in more recent times, but there have been regional variations that probably relate to local seasonal conditions. Internationally, conservation status for Latham’s Snipe is currently of least concern and they are considered secure in Japan and in all Australian states where they occur, with the exception of Victoria where they are vulnerable.