Swinhoe's Snipe - Elliot Leach
Report

Contributor

Date

Location

Small roadside dam and puddle, Braemeadows AU-QLD -18.68381, 146.23326
Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia
Media from this location Illustrated Checklist
Map
Map Coordinates: -18.683809, 146.233261
Age
Not specified
Sex
Not specified

Observation details

After my own lit review and examination of photos etc, and discussions with Gus Daly, Jeff Davies and Rohan Clarke, I am confident this is a Swinhoe's based on a combination of the following features in order of importance: 1. 6 (7?) 'pin' feathers visible on one side of the tail in Photo 1 - this in combination with at least 4 'broad' rectrices on one side of the tail visible in Photo 2 should be diagnostic; 2. Apparent 'step' in belly / undertail coverts visible in Photo 3, cf. smooth 'ramp' in Latham's; 3. Small size (perhaps 15% bigger than Brown Quail); 4. Primaries longer than longest tertial (Photo 3) (this is a feature mentioned in Shorebirds by Hayman et al. but not sure if it is still a legit feature); 5. Broad white tips to rectrices visible in Photo 1 and 2; 6. Short bill cf. Latham’s; 6. Timing of 'typical' Latham's migration cf. Swinhoe's in the Wet Tropics according to Martin Cachard. Jeff suggested the bird may be a male based on length of bill and crown pattern.

Technical information

Model
Canon EOS 7D
Lens
EF400mm f/5.6L USM
ISO
400
Focal length
400 mm
Flash
Flash did not fire, auto
f-stop
f/6.3
Shutter speed
1/2000 sec
Dimensions
1086 pixels x 724 pixels
Original file size
267.57 KB