Becasina Andina/Andean Snipe/Gallinago jamesoni

Nombre en español: Becasina Andina

Nombre en inglés: Andean Snipe

Nombre científico: Gallinago jamesoni

Familia: Scolopacidae

Canto: Peter Boesman

La agachadiza andina o becasina andina (Gallinago jamesoni) es una especie de ave de la familia Scolopacidae, que se encuentra en los Andes en Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú y Venezuela.

Hábitat

Vive en áreas húmedas y pantanosas de los páramos, principalmente entre los 3.200 y 3.300 m de altitud, pero encontrada entre los 2.800 y 3.600 msnm.

Descripción

En promedio mide 28 cm de longitud y pesa 165 g. Tiene un largo pico de 102 mm de largo. Las partes superiores, la cabeza y el cuello son de color castaño oscuro con barras color ante; presenta una franja en lo alto de la corona y cejas color ante profundo; los lados de la cabeza, la garganta y el pecho son de color ocráceo manchado de marrón; el vientre es color ante blancuzco con barras marrón oscuro. En vuelo las alas se ven redondeadas.

Alimentación

Se alimenta de insectos y lombrices, que encuentra escarbando entre el lodo con el pico.

Jameson’s snipe

The Jameson’s snipe or Andean snipe (Gallinago jamesoni) is a small, stocky wader. It breeds in the Andes in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. It appears to be entirely sedentary, with no evidence of migration.

It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Fuegian snipe, Gallinago stricklandii, which is also known as the Cordilleran snipe. The scientific name of the Jameson’s snipe commemorates the Scottish botanist William Jameson.

Description

This 30–32 cm long snipe has a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Its upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with warm brown and buff, and the gold edges to the feathers form lines down its back, which are not as sharply defined as in most snipe species. The belly is white with brown barring. The horn-colored bill is long, straight and fairly robust. The legs and feet are yellowish-green. The sexes are similar, and immatures differ only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts.

The Jameson’s snipe makes a whee-tschwu call in its display flight. Compared with other snipe with an overlapping range, Jameson’s Snipe is obviously larger, with a heavy woodcock-like flight on broad wings which lack a white trailing edge. On the ground, it lacks the clear pale stripes of its smaller relatives. Furthermore, the puna snipe which occurs in the lower Andes, Gallinago andina, has yellow legs.

Behaviour

The Jameson’s snipe is found in marshy areas where grassland and forest intergrade, at altitudes ranging between 2,100 – 3,800 m (mostly 3,000 – 3,500 m). Little is known of its behaviour, but it has an aerial display, which involves flying high in circles, followed by a dive during which the bird makes a drumming sound, caused by vibrations of its modified outer tail feathers.

The Jameson’s snipe forages by pushing its long bill deep into the mud seeking insects and worms. Its cryptic plumage provides effective camouflage when the bird stands motionless amongst marsh vegetation.

Status

The Jameson’s snipe has a large range, with an estimated extent of 260,000 km², but the population size is unknown. It is probably not rare, but is well concealed by its cryptic plumage and habitat, and difficult to flush. It is usually only seen on its display flight.