Latham's Snipe

Gallinago hardwickii (Gray, JE, 1831)

≈32 cmLength51 cmWingspan151 gWeight

This long-billed snipe is well camouflaged by mixed black, brown, buff and white markings.

Busiest months: January · Most records: Australia, Japan, South Korea

Looks like Swinhoe's Snipe, Pin-tailed Snipe

Near Threatened

How to identify

Field marks

Bill very long
Plumage a mixture of black, brown, buff and white

Similar species

Swinhoe's Snipe

Difficult to separate in the field; Latham's Snipe is slightly larger.

Pin-tailed Snipe

Difficult to separate in the field; Latham's Snipe is slightly larger.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: January · Most records: Australia, Japan, South Korea

Latham's Snipe has been recorded at 188 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 8 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature ReserveAustralia3,635 records
Dowse LagoonAustralia1,007 records
West Belconnen PondAustralia568 records

More places

Oxley Creek CommonAustralia479 records
Banyule Flats ReserveAustralia448 records
Eastlakes golf courseAustralia423 records
Finland Road, Paradise WatersAustralia406 records
Coombabah Lakelands Conservation AreaAustralia394 records
Minnippi ParklandsAustralia390 records
Sandy Camp Road WetlandsAustralia352 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Australia Japan South Korea New Zealand Papua New Guinea China Norfolk Island Malaysia

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

Latham's snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), also Japanese snipe is a medium-sized, long-billed, migratory snipe of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. The origin of the bird's common name is not clear. John Latham was a well-known English physician and ornithologist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and had a great interest in Australasian birds.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Latham's Snipe?

The Latham's Snipe is about ≈32 cm long, with a wingspan of 51 cm and weighs around 151 g.

Where does the Latham's Snipe live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: meadows and fields of temperate northeastern Palearctic: eastern Amurland and southern Sakhalin (southeastern Russia) and southern Kuril Islands south through Honshu and ?Kyushu (northern to southern Japan). It is most often recorded in Australia, Japan and South Korea.

When is the best time to see the Latham's Snipe?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January (Southern Hemisphere).

Is the Latham's Snipe endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Latham's Snipe as Near Threatened.

What does the Latham's Snipe eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Latham's Snipe in?

It belongs to the family Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈32 cm
Wingspan: 51 cm
Weight: 151 g
Habitat: Towns & farmland
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Near Threatened

More measurements

Wing: 151 mm
Tail: 61 mm
Bill: 73 mm
Tarsus: 35 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic: meadows and fields of temperate northeastern Palearctic: eastern Amurland and southern Sakhalin (southeastern Russia) and southern Kuril Islands south through Honshu and ?Kyushu (northern to southern Japan)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2