Greater Painted-Snipe
GREATER PAINTED-SNIPE
Rostratula benghalensis
Family Rostratulidae
Bird #282 - January 2011
We were scouring one of the bare rice fields by the side of the road for the Pied Avocet, carefully checking out every square inch when Tonji noticed an unusual looking dark clump. Closer scrutiny revealed the dark clump to be a pair of Greater Painted-Snipes! They hardly moved from the grass, except to further scrunch themselves closer to the ground. There was a farmer nearby and they seemed to be trying to hide. Getting down from the car didn't help, and seemed to make them hold their ground even more.
The male is on the left and the female is the more brightly colored one on the right. This bird has an unusual breeding habit. After laying her eggs, the female leaves the nest to breed with other males. The male incubates the eggs.
They are resident in the Philippines. The male is 9 1/2 inches and the female is larger at 10".
Read MoreRostratula benghalensis
Family Rostratulidae
Bird #282 - January 2011
We were scouring one of the bare rice fields by the side of the road for the Pied Avocet, carefully checking out every square inch when Tonji noticed an unusual looking dark clump. Closer scrutiny revealed the dark clump to be a pair of Greater Painted-Snipes! They hardly moved from the grass, except to further scrunch themselves closer to the ground. There was a farmer nearby and they seemed to be trying to hide. Getting down from the car didn't help, and seemed to make them hold their ground even more.
The male is on the left and the female is the more brightly colored one on the right. This bird has an unusual breeding habit. After laying her eggs, the female leaves the nest to breed with other males. The male incubates the eggs.
They are resident in the Philippines. The male is 9 1/2 inches and the female is larger at 10".
GREATER PAINTED-SNIPE, female Rostratula benghalensis Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines
lagunabirdresidentpaintedsnipepainted sniperostratula benghalensisgreater painted snipejjunejune 2011
DrKiss Zsolt
on February 8, 2014Great colours!