The term “snipe” commonly describes a secretive wading bird belonging to the family Scolopacidae. Approximately 26 species exist globally, characterized by their preference for wet, marshy habitats. The multiple uses of the word “snipe” in language—from a military term to a campfire prank—often cause confusion about whether the bird is real.
Physical Traits and Habitat of the Wading Bird
The most widespread species, the Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), is a stocky shorebird measuring about 10.5 inches (26.7 cm) in length. Its plumage is a mottled mix of brown, black, and white, providing exceptional cryptic camouflage against the dense marshland vegetation where it lives. The Common Snipe has relatively short legs and a short neck.
The bird’s most defining feature is its extremely long, straight, and slender bill, which can measure around 2.5 inches (6.4 cm), nearly twice the length of its head. This specialized bill is adapted for probing deep into soft mud and soil to locate food. The tip of the bill contains sensory nerve endings that allow the snipe to detect prey beneath the surface without seeing it.
This adaptation permits the bird to open the bill’s tip like forceps to grasp invertebrates without fully withdrawing its head from the mud. Snipe inhabit a wide variety of freshwater and brackish wetlands across the world, including bogs, swamps, wet meadows, and tundra. These shy birds are found across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, with many species undertaking long annual migrations.
The Snipe’s Elusive Behaviors and Unique Flight
The snipe’s reputation for elusiveness stems from its behavioral strategy of relying entirely on camouflage and stillness to avoid detection. The bird will remain motionless in the dense cover until an intruder is almost upon it, only flushing as a last resort. When finally startled, the snipe bursts from its cover with a sudden, loud squawk, which can be highly unnerving to a predator or hunter.
Once airborne, the bird employs its characteristic erratic and rapid “zigzag” flight pattern, making it an exceptionally difficult target to track and shoot. This evasive maneuver involves a series of sharp, unpredictable turns that allow the snipe to quickly gain distance from the threat. The flight is so swift and unpredictable that the bird can reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour.
During the breeding season, the male snipe performs a unique courtship display known as “winnowing” or “drumming.” The display is not a vocal call but a mechanical sound produced during high-altitude dives. The bird flies high in circles before taking shallow, swooping dives during which it spreads its outer tail feathers.
As the bird dives, air rushes over these specialized, stiffened tail feathers, causing them to vibrate rapidly and create a distinct sound. This haunting, pulsing sound, sometimes compared to the bleating of a goat, is used to attract a mate and establish territorial boundaries.
“Snipe” in Culture and Common Slang
The difficulty of hunting the fast, erratic bird gave rise to the military term “sniper.” The term originated in the 1770s among British soldiers in India, who coined “to snipe” for the challenging act of shooting the bird in flight. Successful hunters required exceptional stealth and marksmanship, qualities that later defined the military sharpshooter.
The most common cultural reference to the bird’s secretive nature is the “snipe hunt” prank, often associated with summer camps and outdoor activities. An unsuspecting novice is sent into the dark woods with a bag and absurd instructions to catch a supposedly non-existent creature. The joke relies on the bird’s real-life elusiveness, which makes the idea of a fruitless search plausible.
In common slang, the term “snipe” also refers to a discarded cigarette butt or cigar stub. The act of scavenging these cast-off smoking materials is known as “sniping.” This slang use dates back to the late 19th century.