Snipe are migratory gamebirds. They breed from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to the Canadian plains down into the northern prairie states. Like ducks and geese, each fall snipe migrate south, going as far as Brazil and Columbia, before returning northward to nest. Sometimes they flocks in groups of up to two to three dozen. Most often, you find them in ones or twos.
Like their dryland cousins, woodcock, snipe are about the size of a mourning dove. Their distinguishing feature is a long, slender beak that it plunges into wet soil to probe for earthworms.
Snipe are typically found in wet meadows, or on little hummocks rising out of freshwater marshes. When they flush, they utter a startling raspy call that sounds vaguely like "snipe," which is probably where they got their name. There is a telltale orange spot on the back by the tail, which is visible when the birds first take off, helping to distinguish them from killdeer or willets
