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Atlas & Birdata

The Atlas is one of BirdLife Australia's greatest resources, allowing us to track changes in birds across the country. Since 1998 a dedicated band of... More >

Beach-nesting Birds

BirdLife Australia’s Beach-nesting Birds project works with community volunteers across Australia to help raise awareness among beach users about... More >

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BirdLife Australia has been running the Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo Recovery project since 2001. We work with various land managers, government and... More >

Shorebirds 2020

The Shorebirds 2020 program aims to reinvigorate and coordinate national shorebird population monitoring in Australia. To report on the population... More >

Woodland Birds for Biodiversity

Since European settlement one-third of Australia’s woodlands and 80% of temperate woodlands have been cleared. The Woodland Birds for Biodiversity... More >

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Is nowhere safe from shooting, grazing & logging? National Parks don't seem to be. We call for Fed protection now: http://t.co/CSUzaOTulb

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What's the latest OBP news? Tune in to Richard Stubbs @774melbourne & Recovery Coordinator Peter Menkhorst today at 2.10pm to find out!

Australian Painted Snipe

Rostratula australis
Rostratulidae

Once considered a race of the Greater Painted Snipe which occurs in Africa and Asia, the Australian Painted Snipe is now considered a full species in its own right after recent studies of its morphology and DNA. They often occur in small parties, which are sometimes comprised by birds of a single sex. They usually spend much of the day loafing quietly beneath the cover of low shrubs or other vegetation; they become active around dusk and remain active throughout the night.

Identification

Description

The Australian Painted Snipe is a snipe-like shorebird with a bulbous-tipped bill, broad, rounded wings and longish legs that protrude beyond the tip of the tail when in flight. The sexes differ. Males have a dark-brown crown with a buff median stripe; the rest of the head and neck are dark ashy-grey, with a cream-coloured, comma-shaped mark around the eye. The upperparts are ashy-grey with blackish barring and blotches, and a narrow, golden-buff line separating the mantle and scapulars. The upper breast is dark ashy-grey with pale streaks; a broad white stripe extends from the sides of the breast onto the shoulders. The rest of the underparts are white. The upperwing is glossy olive-green with golden-buff spots and a dark bar; the underwing is light grey with fine barring and a white band through the centre. The female differs by having a uniform dark-brown head and upper breast, a rufous hindneck, and darker upperparts with fine barring.

Similar Species

The Latham’s Snipe is superficially similar. On the ground it can be distinguished by its pale eyebrow, long straight bill, streaks and mottling on the breast with no white breast–shoulder stripe, and a rufous tail with a black band. In flight it has pointed wings, a dark-grey underwing with white barring and its legs do not protrude beyond the tip of its tail; its typical flight is zig-zagging, often accompanied by much calling.

Location

Distribution

Endemic to Australia, the Australian Painted Snipe has been recorded in all mainland states, where the records are widely and sparsely scattered, though most records have come from eastern Australia, and most of these records are from the Murray–Darling Basin. There are also historical records from Tasmania.

Habitat

The Australian Painted Snipe inhabits many different types of shallow, brackish or freshwater terrestrial wetlands, especially temporary ones which have muddy margins and small, low-lying islands. Suitable wetlands usually support a mosaic of low, patchy vegetation, as well as lignum and canegrass.

Behaviour

Feeding

The Australian Painted Snipe usually remains among the cover of wetland vegetation while foraging. It feeds at night, probing the soft mud with its long bill as it walks, pecking at seeds and taking small invertebrates.

Breeding

Little is known of the breeding of the Australian Painted Snipe. The nest is usually a scrape in the ground, lined with a few twigs or stalks of grass. Three or four dull-coloured, spotted and blotched eggs are laid, and these are incubated by the male, which also provides most care for the young.

Conservation Status

Federal

Vulnerable

NSW

Vulnerable

NT

Not present

QLD

N/A

SA

Rare

TAS

Not present

VIC

Endangered

WA

N/A