canberrabirds

Snipes and non-snipes

To: <>
Subject: Snipes and non-snipes
From: "Geoffrey Dabb" <>
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2013 16:19:42 +1100

Below at left is a scene from this morning with a resting painted-snipe, part-obscured and  faithful to its loggy spot and its dock.  A Latham’s Snipe is nearby.  (There were about 10 Latham’s active in the general area as well as a Spotted Crake.)  As Kevin Windle remarked, the male p-snipe in that position seems very like an ordinary snipe. However a closer look shows the head pattern as quite different, apart from the footy guernsey.  Although the crown stripe and an eye-stripe are common to both species,  the head of the painted-snipe is dark except for those features – although not as dark as the female.  A is  a Latham’s Snipe; B is one of our previous painted-snipe; C is the current painted-snipe.

 

The dock is an unwelcome weed, and notoriously hard to uproot if you have one in the garden. It is said offer relief from a nettle sting if you rub it on your skin,  It seems a typical weed, but I find there are native docks belonging to the widespread genus Rumex.  This one looks like an introduction to me, possibly the Curled Dock R crispus.

 

 

 

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