Return of the 'Swintail' snipe
Following record September rainfall in Hong Kong, sports fields have been flooded, forming ideal habitat for passing snipe, and just at the right time of year too: groups of snipe pass through on migration in April and September, having been observed at Kowloontsai Park on April 24, 2020, September 6, 2020, and from (at least) September 8 to 10, 2023. On these occasions there were respectively 2, 4 and 6 birds present. Since snipe are known for their 'site fidelity', revisiting the same spots each year, it seems likely that the same family group is involved.
Now for the difficult part: which species of snipe are these? Local expert John Allcock has identified them as either Pin-tailed or Swinhoe's Snipe, both of which have shorter bills and subtly different markings than Common Snipe. But these two species are so similar that separating them requires either sound recordings or photos showing a spread tail in exquisite detail, failing which, they are known as 'Swintail' snipe. Since photos from Kowloontsai to date do not suffice to distinguish the two species, the puzzle looks set to remain for another year.
Comentarios
Agregar un comentario