Snares Snipe
Encyclopedia
The Snares Snipe also known as the Snares Island Snipe or Tutukiwi in Maori
, is a species of bird
in the Scolopacidae, or sandpiper family
.
The taxon was first described by the Reverend Henry Baker Tristram
as Gallinago huegeli, with the specific epithet honouring British and Austrian naturalist Anatole von Hügel
who collected it. The Maori name, “Tutukiwi”, which may be applied to other Coenocorypha snipes as well, alludes to the bird’s fancied resemblance in appearance and behaviour to a miniature kiwi
.
with bars, stripes and spots in shades of brown ranging from buffy-white to nearly black, with longitudinal stripes on the face and crown. It has a long bill, with a short neck and tail. The outer tail feathers are narrow and stiffened, a modification to produce the distinctive roaring sound of the nocturnal “hakawai
” aerial display.
The sexes of the snipe are similar in appearance, though females are slightly larger than the males with weights of about 116 g compared with the males’ 101g, and with bills around 57 mm in length compared with 55 mm. Compared with males, the females have olive rather than yellow coloured legs, and with mottling on the inner edges of the primary coverts rather than having no such markings. The males also have more strongly contrasting dorsal markings. Juveniles are duller in colouration. In sexing the snipe, researchers on the Snares have found that, although no single character is diagnostic, in combination they allow most birds to be assigned to age and sex classes. Walter Oliver
, in his New Zealand Birds (1955), says “The Snares Island snipe is distinguished by the under surface being barred all over which is not the case with any other subspecies. The general colour also is more reddish than in the others.”
island group, with a total surface area of 3.5 km 2, some 200 km south of New Zealand
in the Southern Ocean
. There it breeds on North East
and Broughton Island
s, and has been recorded on Alert Stack. The species has also been introduced to Putauhinu Island. Its favoured habitat is the moist floor beneath Olearia
and Brachyglottis
forest
, with a ground layer of grass tussocks, sedges
, mat-forming herbs and Polystichum vestitum
shield ferns.
reported on a visit to the Snares in December 1947 by saying of the snipe:
pairs, which hold breeding territories, with both parents sharing incubation duties of the two-egg clutch, in a nest concealed in dense ground vegetation. When the chicks hatch they weigh 14-18 g and are precocial
and nidifugous
; the male parent looks after the first chick to leave the nest, while the female takes care of the second. The chicks remain with their respective parents for about eight weeks, and are fed by them for the first two. They are capable of flight at about 30 days old.
s, amphipods, spider
s and insect
s, obtained by probing with their long bills in the soil and leaf litter.
in the Snares to 141 ha Putauhinu Island, in order to establish an insurance population against the possibility of the Snares being threatened by the accidental introduction
of terrestrial predators. Putauhinu lies in the south-western chain of the Titi Islands
, near Stewart Island
. It lies 1.5 km west of Big South Cape Island
, which was the final refuge for the now extinct South Island Snipe
(Coenocorypha iredalei).
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
, is a species of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the Scolopacidae, or sandpiper family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
.
Taxonomy and etymology
The Snares Snipe is one of a group of birds of sometimes disputed relationships in the genus Coenocorypha. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Subantarctic Snipe (Coenocorypha aucklandica), but has since been elevated to a full species.The taxon was first described by the Reverend Henry Baker Tristram
Henry Baker Tristram
The Reverend Henry Baker Tristram FRS was an English clergyman, Biblical scholar, traveller and ornithologist.Tristram was born at Eglingham vicarage, near Alnwick, Northumberland, and studied at Durham School and Lincoln College, Oxford. In 1846 he was ordained a priest, but he suffered from...
as Gallinago huegeli, with the specific epithet honouring British and Austrian naturalist Anatole von Hügel
Anatole von Hügel
Anatole von Hügel was the second son of the Austrian nobleman Charles von Hügel and his Scottish wife Elizabeth Farquharson. His elder brother was Friedrich von Hügel....
who collected it. The Maori name, “Tutukiwi”, which may be applied to other Coenocorypha snipes as well, alludes to the bird’s fancied resemblance in appearance and behaviour to a miniature kiwi
Kiwi
Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...
.
Description
The snipe is a small, chunky and cryptically patterned waderWader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
with bars, stripes and spots in shades of brown ranging from buffy-white to nearly black, with longitudinal stripes on the face and crown. It has a long bill, with a short neck and tail. The outer tail feathers are narrow and stiffened, a modification to produce the distinctive roaring sound of the nocturnal “hakawai
Hakawai
Hakawai, also pronounced and spelt Hokioi in the North Island, with various similar, slightly variant spellings, was the name given by New Zealand Māori people to a mythological bird that was sometimes heard but not usually seen...
” aerial display.
The sexes of the snipe are similar in appearance, though females are slightly larger than the males with weights of about 116 g compared with the males’ 101g, and with bills around 57 mm in length compared with 55 mm. Compared with males, the females have olive rather than yellow coloured legs, and with mottling on the inner edges of the primary coverts rather than having no such markings. The males also have more strongly contrasting dorsal markings. Juveniles are duller in colouration. In sexing the snipe, researchers on the Snares have found that, although no single character is diagnostic, in combination they allow most birds to be assigned to age and sex classes. Walter Oliver
Walter Oliver
Walter Reginald Brook Oliver was an Australian-born New Zealand naturalist, ornithologist, malacologist and museum curator.Born in Launceston, Tasmania, Oliver emigrated with his family to Tauranga in 1896...
, in his New Zealand Birds (1955), says “The Snares Island snipe is distinguished by the under surface being barred all over which is not the case with any other subspecies. The general colour also is more reddish than in the others.”
Distribution and habitat
The snipe is endemic to the Snares Islands, a small subantarcticSubantarctic
The Subantarctic is a region in the southern hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° – 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands in the southern parts of the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and...
island group, with a total surface area of 3.5 km 2, some 200 km south of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
. There it breeds on North East
North East Island, New Zealand
The North East Island is the main island of the Snares Island group at approximately south of New Zealand's South Island. The island forms a central triangle with peninsulas to the north, south and to the west and is some long by wide. Off the South Promontory lies Broughton Island, the second...
and Broughton Island
Broughton Island, New Zealand
Broughton Island is the second largest island of The Snares, at just off the South Promontory of the main island North East Island, which lies approximately south of New Zealand's South Island. The island is some long in SW direction, and the highest elevation is...
s, and has been recorded on Alert Stack. The species has also been introduced to Putauhinu Island. Its favoured habitat is the moist floor beneath Olearia
Olearia
Olearia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Asteraceae. There are about 130 different species within the genus found mostly in Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand...
and Brachyglottis
Brachyglottis
Brachyglottis is a genus of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family; a genus which has existed since November 29, 1775when Johann Reinhold Forster & Georg Forster created the genus with this name from the Greek words brachus meaning short...
forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
, with a ground layer of grass tussocks, sedges
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
, mat-forming herbs and Polystichum vestitum
Polystichum vestitum
Polystichum vestitum, commonly known as the Prickly Shield Fern, is a hardy, evergreen or semi-evergreen ground fern.-Description:...
shield ferns.
Behaviour
Edgar SteadEdgar Stead
Edgar Fraser Stead was a New Zealand ornithologist, engineer, horticulturist and marksman. He was born in Christchurch and educated there at Christ's College and Wanganui Collegiate School...
reported on a visit to the Snares in December 1947 by saying of the snipe:
”When flushed in the daytime it runs for a few feet then stands still silently regarding the intruder. They are reluctant to fly during the daytime and when they do it is not for more than ten or fifteen yards and often for only two or three. At night they fly more readily and for considerable distances. Their food apparently consists chiefly of worms. Always snipe are to be found on the outskirts of penguin colonies. Their laying season commenced at the beginning of December. Nests were found in the heart of big tussocks of Poa foliosaPoa foliosaPoa foliosa is a species of tussock grass commonly known as Muttonbird Poa. It is native to the subantarctic islands of New Zealand and Australia.-Description:...
about one foot above ground level. The nests were deep cups of fine grass 9 ½ cm wide by 7 cm deep, and contained a good deal of material.”
Breeding
Most of the snipe breed in monogamousMonogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
pairs, which hold breeding territories, with both parents sharing incubation duties of the two-egg clutch, in a nest concealed in dense ground vegetation. When the chicks hatch they weigh 14-18 g and are precocial
Precocial
In biology, the term precocial refers to species in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. The opposite developmental strategy is called "altricial," where the young are born or hatched helpless. Extremely precocial species may be called...
and nidifugous
Nidifugous
Nidifugous organisms are those that leave the nest shortly after hatching or birth. It is derived from Latin nidus for "nest" and fugere meaning "to flee". The terminology is most often used to describe birds and was introduced by Lorenz Oken in 1916...
; the male parent looks after the first chick to leave the nest, while the female takes care of the second. The chicks remain with their respective parents for about eight weeks, and are fed by them for the first two. They are capable of flight at about 30 days old.
Feeding
The snipe feed on a variety of small invertebrates, including annelidAnnelid
The annelids , formally called Annelida , are a large phylum of segmented worms, with over 17,000 modern species including ragworms, earthworms and leeches...
s, amphipods, spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, obtained by probing with their long bills in the soil and leaf litter.
Status and conservation
The total population of the species in the Snares is estimated at just over 400 pairs. On 16 April 2005 thirty snipe were translocated from North East IslandNorth East Island, New Zealand
The North East Island is the main island of the Snares Island group at approximately south of New Zealand's South Island. The island forms a central triangle with peninsulas to the north, south and to the west and is some long by wide. Off the South Promontory lies Broughton Island, the second...
in the Snares to 141 ha Putauhinu Island, in order to establish an insurance population against the possibility of the Snares being threatened by the accidental introduction
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
of terrestrial predators. Putauhinu lies in the south-western chain of the Titi Islands
Titi/Muttonbird Islands
The Tītī or Muttonbird Islands are located near Stewart Island/Rakiura in the far south of New Zealand.There are three chains, all of them simply referred to as the Muttonbird or Tītī islands. The northeastern chain is located in Foveaux Strait, to the northeast of Stewart Island, between it and...
, near Stewart Island
Stewart Island/Rakiura
Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third-largest island of New Zealand. It lies south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. Its permanent population is slightly over 400 people, most of whom live in the settlement of Oban.- History and naming :...
. It lies 1.5 km west of Big South Cape Island
Taukihepa/Big South Cape Island
Big South Cape Island or Taukihepa is an offshore island of New Zealand to the west of the southern tip of Stewart Island/Rakiura. The island has no permanent inhabitants but muttonbirders visit the island to catch the Sooty Shearwater, known in New Zealand as a "muttonbird".Māori named the island...
, which was the final refuge for the now extinct South Island Snipe
South Island Snipe
The South Island Snipe , also known as the Stewart Island Snipe or Tutukiwi in Maori, is an extinct species of bird in the Scolopacidae, or sandpiper family that was endemic to New Zealand.-Taxonomy and etymology:...
(Coenocorypha iredalei).
External links
- Snares Snipe video from Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand (Flash required)