Biology:Chatham snipe

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Short description: Species of bird

Chatham snipe
Coenocorypha pusilla.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Coenocorypha
Species:
C. pusilla
Binomial name
Coenocorypha pusilla
(Buller, 1869)
Synonyms
  • Gallinago pusilla Buller, 1869

The Chatham snipe or Chatham Island snipe (Coenocorypha pusilla) is a species of wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand, and is only found on a few islands in the south of the Chatham Islands group.[2]

Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperate grassland.

Chatham snipe feed by probing into the ground in search of worms, amphipods, insects and larvae.[2]

Scientific discovery

Chatham snipe (Coenocorypha pusilla) mounted skin

In 1868 the Chatham snipe was collected by naturalist Charles Traill and was sent to ornithologist Walter Buller who described it as a new species of snipe. On an exploratory mission to the islands in 1871, Henry Travers only found the snipe on Mangere Island.[3] Attempts to return snipe to main Chatham Island would be hampered by the presence of introduced mammals and of weka, which are predators of snipe chicks.[4]

References

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q1260591 entry