Hi, I was looking out onto the backyard when I saw a bird with a ridiculously long beak and no tail feathers to speak of. 'He' was so still for so long I thought he might be hurt, or perhaps he was still quite young and had fallen from a tree, so I went outside to see if I could help before my dog had the same idea. The bird flew away when I got a bit too close but he was so odd looking I was curious as to what kind of bird he was.
I looked up few sites and the bird I saw had the body and coloring of a painted snipe, but the beak seemed longer, more like a Latham's snipe. Does anyone have any thoughts on the matter? I just wish I had taken a picture!
Sounds like a Snipe but so unusual to turn up in a yard!
Painteds have more blackish brown with a white underside and band on the side and Latham's have more chestnut brown.
Painteds have curved bills while Latham's have straight.
If it's either one of these birds you've got yourself a great find!
Cheers, Owen.
Hello, a snipe would be a great sighting!
Other possibilities are a Whimbrel or Eastern Curlew (I don't know where you're located). Just putting those forward as an idea based on the "ridiculously long beak".
Looking forward to hearing of future visits.
Regards,
Andy.
furzeguld, I'm interested to know generally where you live & waht sort of habitat you have around you. These 2 bits of information might help with identificiation.