Birds · Charadriiformes · Rostratulidae

Greater Painted-Snipe

Rostratula benghalensis

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The greater painted-snipe — known in Spanish as aguatero pintado or agachadiza dorada — is a wetland wader of Africa and Asia with a cryptic pattern of ochres, greens and whites and a long, slightly downcurved bill. It is crepuscular and extraordinarily unobtrusive: it crouches motionless among the vegetation and flies only at the last instant. Like the Eurasian dotterel, it has reversed sex roles, and the female is the larger and more colourful of the pair.

Weight

90 g – 200 g

Size

23 cm – 28 cm

Lifespan

10 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Crepuscular

Active above all at dawn and dusk.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

FreshwaterGrasslandOmnivore Crepuscular Solitary Bird Freshwater Grassland

16countries

Fun facts

It reverses the sex roles: the female is larger and far more striking, gives a deep, resonant call to attract males, may pair with several, and leaves it to them to incubate and raise the chicks.
The female's call is a hollow, deep sound, likened to blowing across the neck of a bottle, given above all at dusk from inside the marsh vegetation.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Marshes, rice fields, shallow lagoons and densely vegetated wetlands of Africa and Asia
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 19 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 4 eggs

Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/