Common Snipe

The common snipe is a compact, well-camouflaged wader with a striped head, a mottled brown back and a remarkably long, straight bill. It probes deep into soft mud for worms and insects. Its eyes sit high and far back on the head, so it can scan its surroundings even while its bill is buried in the ground. In its display flight, its outer tail feathers vibrate with a bleating sound, which is why the Dutch sometimes call it the « hemelgeit » (sky goat). In the Vendée it is seen mostly outside the breeding season, along muddy shores and in wet meadows.