biology

Latham's snipe

Latham's snipe is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Latham's snipe rather than just read about it. In short: Latham's snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), also Japanese snipe is a medium-sized, long-billed, migratory snipe of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. The origin of the bird's common name is not clear.

Key takeaways

Latham's snipe belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Latham's snipe to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Latham's snipe from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Latham's snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), also Japanese snipe is a medium-sized, long-billed, migratory snipe of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. The origin of the bird's common name is not clear. John Latham was a well-known English physician and ornithologist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and had a great interest in Australasian birds. However, he had no apparent connection with the snipe named after him.

Description The snipe is 29–33 cm long, with a wingspan of 50–54 cm and weight of 150–230 g.

Identification It is identifiable as a Gallinago snipe by its cryptically-patterned black, brown, buff and white plumage. However, in the field it is not easily distinguished from Swinhoe's snipe and the pin-tailed snipe, though it is slightly larger.

Distribution and habitat The snipe breeds mainly in Hokkaidō in northern Japan, with smaller numbers on Honshū, the eastern Russian mainland and Sakhalin and, historically, the Kurile Islands. The entire population migrates and spends the non-breeding season principally in eastern Australia, where it is the commonest Gallinago snipe. It has been recorded on migration in Taiwan, the Philippines and New Guinea, and is a rare straggler to New Zealand. The snipe's breeding habitat in Asia includes alpine moorland, grasslands, rough pasture, young tree plantations and cultivated areas. Its non-breeding habitat in Australia is shallow freshwater wetlands of various kinds, with bare mud or shallow water for feeding, and nearby vegetation cover for shelter.

Behaviour

Breeding Courtship consists of display flights and drumming by the males. They nest on the ground, concealed in vegetation, with a clutch of four eggs.

Feeding Latham's snipe is an omnivorous species that feeds on seeds and other plant material (mainly from species in families such as Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Juncaceae, Polygonaceae, Ranunculaceae and Fabaceae), and on invertebrates including insects (mainly flies and beetles), earthworms, spiders and occasionally molluscs, isopods and centipedes.

Status and conservation Internationally, Latham's snipe is considered to be a near-threatened species. In Australia, it was formerly hunted as a gamebird but is now fully protected and, following assessment in the 2020, is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian EPBC Act. It is listed as "rare" under South Australia's National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 In Japan, the Ministry of the Environment's 'Red List' classes the species as Near threatened (NT). Human development has increased the number of suitable breeding sites in Hokkaido, however the population is declining nonetheless.

References

BirdLife International. (2006). Species factsheet: Gallinago hardwickii. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 9 February 2007 Fujimaki, Y.; & Skira, I.J. (1984). Notes on Latham's Snipe, Gallinago hardwickii, in Japan. Emu 84: 49–51. Higgins, P.J.; & Davies, J.N. (eds). (1996). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 3: Snipe to Pigeons. Oxford University Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0-19-553070-5 Lane, Brett; & Davies, Jeff. (1987). Shorebirds in Australia. RAOU: Melbourne. ISBN 0-17-006824-2

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Latham's snipe

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Latham's snipe claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Latham's snipe before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Latham's snipe ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Latham's snipe

In research: Latham's snipe appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Latham's snipe in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Latham's snipe is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Birds described in 1831, Birds of Japan, Gallinago, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Latham's snipe outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Latham's snipe in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Latham's snipe means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Latham's snipe out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Latham's snipe in simple terms?

Latham's snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), also Japanese snipe is a medium-sized, long-billed, migratory snipe of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. The origin of the bird's common name is not clear.

Why does Latham's snipe matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Latham's snipe?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Latham's snipe.