"Sniper" or "Silly Sheep", what kind of fantail sand cone are you?

"Sniper" or "Silly Sheep", what kind of fantail sand cone are you?

Title of the work: Gallinago gallinula

Chinese name: Fantail Sand Cone

Artist: Johann Friedrich Naumann (Germany, 1780 – 1857)

The Latin name of the fan-tailed snipe (Gallinago gallinago) gallinago means hen, and the English name Common Snipe reminds people of a common hen-like bird. Indeed, they can be found all over the world in Asia, Europe and Africa.

They can also be seen in the Tianyu River wetland and ponds of the Qinling National Botanical Garden. Every winter, they come here to spend the winter. Regardless of size, they are all "camouflaged", which is especially suitable for the winter in the north. When they hide by the withered pond, people sometimes get very close to them and they fly away in an irregular zigzag shape. This way of flying is also called sniper sand cone flying. Only hunters with superb marksmanship can hit them. The English word sniper comes from the sand cone (snipe). There are records that when they take off, the vibration of their wings will make a sound like "bleating" or "buzzing", which sounds like encountering a flock of sheep from a distance. Unfortunately, I didn't hear it once. I wonder if you are lucky enough?

They like to move in groups of three or five in the morning or evening, which is the best time to observe them. If you want to see them, you need to be careful and attentive. If you approach quietly, you may be able to see them without disturbing them. Compared with the fantail snipe in Johann Friedrich Naumann's painting, the little guys we see seem to have longer mouths. Their long mouths, which are nearly half of their body length, patiently poke in the mud by the water bit by bit to find snails, small fish or earthworms. There are obvious vertical stripes on their heads and backs, which makes it easy for people to identify their figures. When I first saw them, I was reminded of chipmunks with similar stripes, but the stripes of fantail snipes are not so obvious and not very coherent, and they are obviously not as clever and cute as chipmunks. When they are courting, the tail of the male bird will open vertically like a fan, which is probably why they are called "fantails".

Everyone is welcome to come to Qinling National Botanical Garden and meet these little cuties with us.

Fantail Sand Cone Profile

English: Common Snipe

Scientific Name: Gallinago gallinago

Visibility: More common in winter

Found: Small groups in Tianyu River Wetland Park

Protection level: three

Figure 1: A fan-tailed sandpiper foraging in the Tianyu River wetland