Bird Album
Greater Painted-snipe
Rostratula benghalensis (Linnaeus, 1758)
23–28 cmLength53 cmWingspan121 gWeight
The female is larger and more colorful than the male, which incubates the eggs and raises the young.
Busiest months: January–May · Most records: China, India, Thailand
How to identify
Field marks
- Female head black with pale yellow markings and a white eye patch
- Female neck deep reddish-brown
- Female upperparts mostly dark bronze-green with fine black barring
- Female has white stripes around scapulars and back; underparts white
Male, female and young
Male paler, with stripes on scapulars and wing-coverts; juvenile resembles male but lacks a dark transverse band on the breast.
Voice
Mostly silent; female sometimes gives soft, low calls or rumbling sounds.
Where and when it's recorded
Greater Painted-snipe has been recorded at 893 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 55 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Krishnampathi Lake, SeeranaickenpalayamIndia1,013 records
- Long ValleyHong Kong (China)873 records
- Hsinchu Coast IBA – GangnanTaiwan (China)577 records
More places
- Lanyang River Estuary IBA – XinnanTaiwan (China)519 records
- Beimen IBA – ShanliaowanTaiwan (China)471 records
- Mai Po Nature ReserveHong Kong (China)415 records
- Dapingding and Xucuogang IBA – Dayuan LitcuoTaiwan (China)404 records
- Bharatpur – Keoladeo Ghana NPIndia400 records
- Chilika Lake – MangalajodiIndia377 records
- Lizejian IBA – 52-Jia WetlandTaiwan (China)342 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The greater painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) is a species of wader in the small painted-snipe family Rostratulidae. It widely distributed across Africa and southern Asia and is found in a variety of wetland habitats, including swamps and the edges of larger water bodies such as lakes and rivers. This species is sexually dimorphic with the female being larger and more brightly coloured than the male.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Greater Painted-snipe?
The Greater Painted-snipe is about 23–28 cm long, with a wingspan of 53 cm and weighs around 121 g.
Where does the Greater Painted-snipe live?
Its breeding range: Africa, Oriental: widespread inland Africa and tropical to subtropical (locally temperate) Asia: Africa and Madagascar; Indus Valley (central Pakistan) to southern China, central Japan, Philippines and eastern Lesser Sundas. It is most often recorded in China, India and Thailand.
When is the best time to see the Greater Painted-snipe?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, February, March, April and May (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Greater Painted-snipe endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Greater Painted-snipe as Least Concern.
What does the Greater Painted-snipe eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Greater Painted-snipe in?
It belongs to the family Painted-snipes (Rostratulidae), order Charadriiformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 23–28 cm
- Wingspan
- 53 cm
- Weight
- 121 g
- Habitat
- Wetland
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Partial migrant
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 128 mm
- Tail
- 42 mm
- Bill
- 52 mm
- Tarsus
- 44 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Africa, Oriental: widespread inland Africa and tropical to subtropical (locally temperate) Asia: Africa and Madagascar; Indus Valley (central Pakistan) to southern China, central Japan, Philippines and eastern Lesser Sundas
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Painted-snipes Rostratulidae
- Genus
- Rostratula
Other birds in the genus Rostratula
Australian Painted-snipeRostratula australis
South American Painted-snipeNycticryphes semicollaris
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Richard Adcock. ↗
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