The Science of Birds - Random Bird Thursday: An Alien-Eyed Mountaineer That Sounds Like a Jet

Episode Date: June 11, 2026

In each Random Bird Thursday (RBT) episode, the goal is to highlight a bird species that probably isn't going to get featured in a full-length podcast episode. These are birds we might overlook, even though they certainly deserve some appreciation and attention. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!The featured species in this episode is Jameson's Snipe (Gallinago jamesoni).Sound Citations:Niels Krabbe, XC238296. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/238296.Niels Krabbe, XC47237. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/47237.Niels Krabbe, XC238308. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/238308.Support the show

Hello and welcome. This is the Science of Birds. I am your host, Ivan Philipson. The Science of Birds podcast is a lighthearted exploration of bird biology for lifelong learners. And hey, guess what? It's Random Bird Thursday. Random Bird Thursday episodes are relatively short and sweet, and in these episodes, I spotlight a bird species that I probably won't

feature in a full-length episode. There are over 11,000 bird species in the world, so Random Bird Thursday gives us a chance to celebrate one of those species that we might otherwise overlook. But we don't know which bird we're talking about yet, so let's hit the Random Bird Selector button to find out. Excellent. We have Jameson's Snipe, Gallenago Jameson I. This is a South American species in the Sandpiper family. It's also known as the Andean snipe. Okay, so James and Snipe, here we go. Let's get into it. This is a fairly big, heavy set snipe, which looks sort of like a woodcock, so hopefully you know what a snipe looks like or a woodcock. One of the

things about these birds, there are a couple different genera that look like this. They have their eyes positioned really high on their head so that they look almost. alien-like, and that allows them to see pretty much in 360 degrees all around them to see any predators coming. So it makes them look weird, but it's a great adaptation. This bird measures about 11 to 13 inches long, which is 28 to 32 centimeters. The bill is typical for birds like this. It's very long, straight, and pretty robust, thick. The color of the bill is a kind of creamy gray, what some people would describe as a horn color. It's pretty deep at the base,

and it tapers down to a tip that looks like it's drooping a little bit. And the tip is a darker color, like grayish brown. How about the plumage? Well, the upper parts and the head and the neck are all patterned with this warm brown and buff sort of spotting and speckling. There are gold edges to the feathers that run in lines down the back. and the underparts are similar, but they have a bit of a less warm color to them.

They're a little colder kind of buff, and they're a bit more white on the belly, and there's some brown barring. The overall effect is that this is a very well-camophaged bird. It has cryptic plumage. So if it's just sitting there motionless in a marsh, then it's very difficult to see it. For you, for me, for any predators.

Now, there are a couple key field marks. that might set this bird apart from some of its very similar-looking cousins. It does not have a clear pale mantle on the back or head stripes that are typical of many other snipes, and it has no white on the wings or on its barred tail. And good luck telling males apart from females because there's no sexual dimorphism, no dichromatism, the birds are the same size, shape, and coloration. Now, let's talk about the sounds these birds make. Not just vocal sounds, but there's more.

But let's start off with some calls and songs. This recording that I'm going to play was recorded in the Andes, up in the Paramo Grassland, and we'll talk about that more in a second. And this was recorded at about 12,000 feet or 3,700 meters. Now, this cryptic bird is secretive. It's actually difficult to flush. to just sit still and relies on its camouflage, even if you get pretty close to it. Most birders or people in the outdoors really only see this bird when it's making a display flight.

And so that's where we get into not just some more vocal sounds, but also non-vocal mechanical sounds. Because what the males do is they fly up high and then they do this shallow two or three second stoop, where they dive down, and air rushes through the tail feathers, the retracies, And that produces this mechanical sort of drumming sound. If you live where there are other kinds of snipe, like maybe Common Snipe, Wilson Snipe, you might have heard things like this. But it's really impressive in Jameson Snipe.

It actually sounds like a jet. So it sounds like you're hearing a jet in the distance. When I first heard these recordings, I mean, I knew that was the case, but I heard them. I still couldn't believe it. So I'm going to play you a couple different recordings. and the quality is a little rough.

So there's some handling noise, maybe some wind noise, but you're going to hear that low jet-like sound, which again is air rushing through the tail feathers. And then there's going to be a call that is on top of that, these kind of single-note calls that are accompanying that mechanical sound. So it's vocal and non-vocal sounds simultaneously. So this is the aerial song with the rushing tail or the stooping flight with the air moving through the tail.

feathers, this first recording was made in Peru. And this next recording, once again, listen for that jet-like sound, as well as the calls, this recording was made in Ecuador. And you're actually hearing multiple birds in this recording. Okay, now we're going to move on and talk about the name of this bird. So, Jameson, that is honoring or commemorating a Scottish botanist, William Jameson. And so that's where the specific epithet comes from as well, James and I. But what about Gallenago? G-A-L-L-L-I-N-A-G-O. Well, my understanding is that is derived from Latin,

and it means something like resembling a hen. And, you know, these birds are generally chicken-shaped, sort of. But before this species was in the genus Galanago, it was placed in another genus called Chubia. I kid you not, Chubia, C-H-U-B-B-I-A. Now, as far as I know, there are no living birds that are in that genus. That genus is no more, as taxonomy has changed. But yeah, so there used to be one called Chubbia,

making me wonder if whether there were also other ones like Plumpster or Chonkus. I mean, geez, no need to, like, insult the bird by naming it Chubia. Anyway, the family, as I mentioned, is the family of sandpipers, and that is Skolopacity, which you might recall from episode 26 of the Science of Birds podcast. And in this genus, Gallenegro, Jameson's snipe is one of 18 species in that genus. Its closest relative is Gallenegro Stricklandi, that is known as the Fuegian snipe, which lives at the southern end of South America, all the way down there to Tierra del Fuego, thus the name Fuegian snipe. But Jameson's snipe is thought to be monotypic, meaning that there's no interest,

specific variation. There's no subspecies within Jameson's snipe, none that ornithologists have detected so far. So I mentioned this is a South American bird. It lives up at high elevation. So its range is found in the Andes Mountains, from Venezuela and Colombia, down to central western Bolivia, and of course, Ecuador and Peru in between. And if you look at its distribution, it's just like these little strips of high elevation areas up in the Andes. because its preferred habitat is an ecosystem called the paramo, P-A-R-A-M-O. Paramo is the Spanish name for a unique ecosystem that's high in the Andes. It's basically an alpine tundra with few, if any, trees.

So this bird, James and Snipe, is found at altitude somewhere between 6,800 feet and 12,500 feet, or 2,100 to 3,800 meters. That's the typical range of elevations, but it can get up to 14,400 feet or about 4,400 meters, which is pretty amazing. The habitat there is this kind of wet, boggy environment. There's maybe some swampy forest around with stunted trees, maybe bamboo. And James and Snipe is especially fond of areas that have a shrub called Espelicia. That's the genus, Espelicia. In Spanish, this plant is called Freelicia.

There are multiple species in that genus that also go by that name, Freilohone. These are special plants that live at high altitude in the paramo. An esplicea shrub has a thick trunk, and it has these succulent fuzzy leaves that grow in a spiral pattern. It's really cool. If you know what a yucca looks like, sort of looks like that from a distance, also gives off a little bit of an artichoke vibe, I think. and it puts out these flowers that are kind of like daisies, they're yellow, and this is in the Asteraciae family, the same family as daisies. It's a really cool high-elevation plant,

and as a little aside, Frelejones, or these espalicia shrubs, are famous for their ability to capture moisture from fog or from passing clouds. Those fuzzy leaves and that spongy trunk are able to gather and hold on to water, and then that water ends up in the soil and then that creates this underground water deposit that ends up in lakes, which eventually ends up in rivers.

So these Espelicia plants are really important in the water cycle of the Andes. But back to Jameson's snipe. I mean, that's why I love talking about birds, right? If you learn about birds, you learn about their environment, you learn about other species they interact with. So we're learning about the entire world. It's fun. So, James and Snipe does not migrate that we know of. It appears to be a sedentary species.

And luckily, with respect to conservation, it is in the least concern category, meaning that it is not endangered in any way that we know of. It seems to be a common species, and it has that fairly large range. Even though it's kind of a narrow strip through the Andes, it covers all those countries I mentioned. I couldn't find any references to specific threats to the bird or direct threats. However, the espalicia plants, the friday hones, are endangered, at least in some places, because the paramo ecosystem is being destroyed for agricultural reasons, often to grow potato crops. So if the paramo is being damaged and the espalicia environment or the shrub lands with lots of espalicia are being lost, If that habitat is being destroyed, then I would assume that that means the snipe are having a problem with that. But let's move on to talk about the way these birds eat and what they eat.

They forage for insects and worms, primarily things that are in the soil, because James and Snipe uses that long, stout bill to probe into the soil, to push the bill deep into the mud, to pull up worms or whatever. and it does most of its foraging early in the morning or in the evening in the dusk, so this is a bird that we would describe as crepuscular, at least with respect to its foraging. The sources I have, and this is one of those species that doesn't have a lot of information, the sources I have don't talk a lot about how this bird mates. It's uncertain what the exact social mating system is.

However, some of its cousins like Wilson's snipe and the common snipe, Those species form monogamous pairs and they pair up for a season, even if it's just social monogamy. But within that same group of birds, we have the Great Snipe, which has a polygynous breeding system. It has a lech breeding system, so that's quite different. So we can't necessarily assume that Jameson's snipe is monogamous, but it seems most likely. But what we do know is it has those high aerial displays, right? those stoops making that loud mechanical drumming sound that sounds like a jet and other snipe do this and this is a display to impress females so it's a type of courtship the nest is a delicate saucer made of

grass of a hollowed out area of grass it's usually placed on a dry slope and there that's usually at some distance from a bog or wet area the nest usually just has two eggs in it and the chicks when they hatch out are of course super cute. They're fuzzy. So they're precocial. Their fuzzy little plumage is a tawny buff color with some dark patterning on it and some stripes. Really cute, really cryptic. And yeah, that's about what I could find for James and Snipe. I have no idea how long they live. I don't know what their favorite color is, what kind of bands they listen to, their political stance, none of that. But it's a cool bird. I have not seen it. I hope to see it someday. I hope to get back to the paramo. I've been there before, but it's been a while. And, you know, what would be really cool

is to see these birds displaying and hearing that jet-like roar. Very cool. How about you? Have you seen Jameson's snipe in South America? If so, let me know. Shoot me an email. It's Ivan at Scienceofbirds.com. That's it for today's random bird Thursday. Thanks for being here, and I'll see you next time. Cheers.