Wood snipe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wood snipe |
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The wood snipe (Gallinago nemoricola) is a special type of bird called a snipe. It lives and has its babies in the high Himalayas mountains. You can find it in northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, and southern China.
When winter comes, these birds fly down to lower parts of the Himalayas. Some even travel to northern Vietnam. Sometimes, they are also seen in places like central and southern India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, northern Thailand, and Laos. People who herd animals called Chauri in the Himalayas know these birds very well.
Wood snipes are dark-colored birds. They are about 28 to 32 centimeters (11 to 12.5 inches) long. They have a short bill that is wide at the bottom.
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Where Wood Snipes Live and Breed
Wood snipes like to live in high places. During their breeding season, from May to July, they make their homes in mountain meadows that are very high up, usually above 3,000 meters (about 9,800 feet). When it gets cold in winter, they move to lower areas.
These birds build their nests on rocks near rhododendron bushes. A study in 2021 in Sichuan province, China, found something interesting. During breeding season, the snipes liked the lower parts of these mountain meadows. These areas were between 3,378 and 3,624 meters high. They also preferred places where the soil was not too wet or too dry. The birds liked to find food in spots where there were lots of small creatures living in the soil.
What Wood Snipes Eat
Wood snipes mainly eat small creatures without backbones, called invertebrates. Their favorite food is worms. They also eat seeds and tiny insect babies (larvae) that they find in the droppings of Chauri animals.
Protecting the Wood Snipe
The wood snipe is considered a vulnerable species by a group called IUCN. This means their numbers are getting low. There are likely between 2,500 and 10,000 adult wood snipes left.
A big reason for their decline is that their homes are disappearing. Many wetlands (areas like swamps or marshes) where they live and find food are being lost. Luckily, wood snipes have been seen in some protected areas. These include Langtang National Park and Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal. These parks help keep their habitats safe.
Who Discovered the Wood Snipe?
The wood snipe was first described in 1836. This was done by a person named Brian Houghton Hodgson.
