Madagascar Snipe

Gallinago macrodactyla Bonaparte, 1839

Madagascar Snipe, Gallinago macrodactyla, is a snipe of the wetlands in eastern Madagascar, where it breeds only in the humid east of the island. It was described by Bonaparte in 1839. This bird is a stocky wader with a heavy build, short legs and a very long, straight bill. Its upperparts, head and neck are marked with dark streaking and gold-edged feather patterning, while the belly is white. It is non-migratory and has been recorded only in Madagascar, breeding in marshes, swamps, muddy ground, flooded fields and sometimes ricefields.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Scolopacidae — Sandpipers, Snipes

Breeding range

Africa: wetlands of e Madagascar