Mommma...where are ye...?!!

by Tejas Soni
(Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India)

This is a photo of a baby Painted Snipe. The female Painted Snipe is the more brightly coloured of the species. The adult female has a black head with a gloss of chestnut. She also has a pale ring around her eye and a lightly coloured stripe on her crown.

The male Painted Snipe is more duller in colour and is smaller than the female. The male bird doesn't change much in colour from when he is a chick.

This particular species is sometimes referred to as a Greater Painted Snipe or an Australian Painted Snipe.

An interesting point about the Painted Snipe is that when it's threatened it puts on a display which involves raising its tail and extending both its wings towards the ground. Sometimes it lets out a loud hiss. By doing this the bird appears larger and shows off the bright colours of its plummage.