Common and Pintail Snipe

Subject: Environment

Context: During the migration season bird watcher faces a challenge in identifying common and pintail snipe.

Concept:

According to eBird platform, Common Snipe and Pinatail Snipe make it to the list of difficult birds to identify.
During the migratory season, the Common Snipe and the Pintail Snipe occur in Chennai. They can sometimes be difficult to be told apart, unless they are seen in flight and their underwings are exposed
The Pintail Snipe has an evenly barred pattern on the underwing, whereas the Common Snipe mostly has a white underwing with some pattern but not evenly-patterned. Much the Common Snipe’s underwing is just white
In parts of the country, it is a little clearer. In western and north-western parts, it is almost only Common Snipe. So, the onus is on birders to find a Pintail Snipe. But in the rest of the country, both may occur in almost equal numbers