What does the Wilson's Snipe song sound like?
Play the real Wilson's Snipe song, the "hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo…", and learn what to listen for.
What the Wilson's Snipe song sounds like
Non-vocal sound generated by vibrating tail feathers during steep dives; carry up to half a mile on calm evenings.
“hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo…”
Birders often file this one under Winnowing display.
How to find the bird singing it
Freshwater and brackish marshes, bogs, fens, wet meadows, willow and alder swales, damp pastures, rice fields, pond margins and ditches.
- Long straight bill: Bill equal to or slightly longer than body length, straight, dark, used for probing mud.
- Striped crown: Two bold buffy stripes framing a dark central stripe along the crown.
- Four buffy longitudinal stripes on back: Broad pale lines create a striped pattern that contrasts with dark brown and black feathers.
When you'll hear it
Spring
Migrants arrive and territorial males perform winnowing display flights over marshes.
Summer (Breeding)
Pairs nest on the ground; downy young leave the nest within hours of hatching.
Fall Migration
Post-breeding birds gather in wet meadows and move south, often at night.
Winter
Forages in shallow wetlands in the southern U.S., Mexico and tropics, largely silent.
Don’t confuse it with
Birds whose song gets mistaken for this one. Play them back to back.