Snipe is a common name applied to shore birds of the genus Gapella, belonging to the family
Scolopacidae, which includes also the woodcock and sandpiper. There are thirteen species, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The snipe has a long, slender bill, which is sensitive at the tip, used to probe for worms and grubs in swampy grasslands. It is highly regarded as a game bird because of its twisting, erratic flight after it is flushed. Most species breed in the far north and migrate southward for the winter.
A typical species is the common American snipe,
G. delicata, known also as Wilson's snipe. It is mottled and striped with brown, black, and buff, and is about 11 inches in length. In courtship the male performs acrobatic revolutions in flight and drops suddenly from a height, producing a drumming beat as the air rushes past the quills in its wings.
