JAPANESE SNIPE

  • Urban development continues to threaten Latham’s Snipe habitats as several snipe sites in eastern Australia are at risk from housing developments and large infrastructure projects.
  • Latham’s Snipe was formerly known as the Japanese Snipe.

Important points:

  • Latham’s Snipe is the largest snipe in Australia, with cryptic, mainly brown, plumage.
  • Their exceptional eyesight helps them constantly scan for dangers at night, when they forage for food in open wet and muddy areas.
  • Breeds in northern Japan and parts of eastern Russia during May-July and spends the non-breeding season (September to March) along Australia’s eastern coast.
  • Like other migratory shorebirds, it has incredible endurance, undertaking a non-stop, over-ocean flight between its breeding and non-breeding grounds.
  • Hunting and wetland loss during the 20th century have contributed to a decline in Latham’s Snipe in south-eastern Australia.
  • The signing of the Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement in 1981 has stopped snipe hunting in both countries to some extent.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT

 

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