The Rostratulidae, commonly known as the painted-snipes, are a
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of
wading birds
Birders in Canada and the United States refer to several families of long-legged wading birds in semi-aquatic ecosystems as waders. These include the families Phoenicopteridae (flamingos), Ciconiidae (storks), Threskiornithidae (ibises and s ...
that consists of two
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
: ''
Rostratula'' and ''
Nycticryphes''.
Description
The painted-snipes are short-legged, long-billed
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s similar in shape to the true snipes, but their
plumage
Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...
is much more striking. There is
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...
in both size and plumage, with the males being duller overall and smaller. All three species have large forward pointing eyes.
Phylogenetics

The family Rostratulidae encompasses two genera and four species, one of which is extinct. Painted-snipes superficially resemble true
snipe
A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/ camouflaging plumage. ''Gallinago'' snipe have a nearly ...
s, but the two taxa are not closely related. Instead the similarity can be attributed to
convergent evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last comm ...
where both groups have been subjected to similar selective pressures, thus promoting the evolution of analogous features such as a long slender bill and legs, mottled
cryptic plumage and characteristic body proportions. While less similar in general morphology, the species that are most closely related to painted-snipes are other members of the suborder
Thinocori:
jacanas,
seedsnipes, and the
plains wanderer
The plains-wanderer (''Pedionomus torquatus'') is an atypical species of wading bird, the Monotypic taxon, only representative of family Pedionomidae and genus ''Pedionomus''. It is endemic to Australia. Its historic range included much of east ...
.
[del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Sargatal, J. (editors). (1996). '']Handbook of the Birds of the World
The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...
.'' Volume 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions.
The species †''Rostratula minator'' was described in 1988 from deposits of the early
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58[Langebaanweg
Langebaanweg is a town on the southwest coast of South Africa, in Western Cape Province.
It is the location of the air force base AFB Langebaanweg.
Langebaanweg has been an important mining center, with its main minerals consisting of phosphor ...](_blank)
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. This is the first fossil attributed to the family Rostratulidae. Comparisons of bone measurements with ''R. minator'' and the
extant
Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to:
* Extant hereditary titles
* Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English
* Exta ...
species show that it was intermediate in size, although considerable differences indicate that it may only be an
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
African species that has become extinct, rather than a direct ancestor of ''
R. benghalensis''.
[
The Australian painted-snipe was described as ''Rostratula australis'' by ]John Gould
John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...
in 1838, although later lumped with the similar greater painted-snipe, ''R. benghalensis'' as subspecies ''R. b. australis''. However, morphological and genetic differences have resulted in the species being restored in recent years.Baker AJ, Perreira SL, Rogers DI, Elbourne R and Hassell CJ (2007) Mitochondrial-DNA shows that the Australian Painted Snipe is a full species, Rostratula australis. Emu 107: 185-189
/ref> Such a similarity between the two species can be explained by a recent evolutionary divergence, and is an example of allopatric speciation
Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...
where the prevention of gene flow
In population genetics, gene flow (also known as migration and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic variation, genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent ...
by geographical isolation has resulted in an accumulation of differences by genetic drift
Genetic drift, also known as random genetic drift, allelic drift or the Wright effect, is the change in the Allele frequency, frequency of an existing gene variant (allele) in a population due to random chance.
Genetic drift may cause gene va ...
and differing selective pressures.
Taxonomy
Family Rostratulidae: painted-snipes
Behaviour
All three species of painted-snipe generally inhabit reedy swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s and marshes, usually in lowlands. Outside of the breeding season painted-snipes are generally solitary in habits. Painted snipes are crepuscular
In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal (active during dawn), vespertine (biology), vespertine/vespertinal (active during dusk), or both. This is distinguished from diurnalit ...
or even slightly nocturnal
Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatur ...
in their habits.
Feeding
Painted-snipes are omnivorous
An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...
, feeding on invertebrate
Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...
s and seeds. Animal prey taken includes annelid
The annelids (), also known as the segmented worms, are animals that comprise the phylum Annelida (; ). The phylum contains over 22,000 extant species, including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to vario ...
worms, snails, aquatic and marsh insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s, and crustaceans. The seeds of grasses such as millet and rice are also consumed, and may form a major part of the diet of some populations.
Breeding
The breeding biology of the painted-snipes varies according to genus; the ''Rostratula'' painted-snipes are generally polyandrous
Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives ...
whereas the South American painted-snipe is monogamous
Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...
. The females of the genus ''Rostratula'' will bond with several males during a breeding season, but once the eggs are laid the males provide all the incubation and parental care. The nest
A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...
of both species is a shallow cup, often built on a platform of vegetation. Clutch sizes range from 2–4 eggs, which are incubated for 15–21 days.
Conservation
At present, two species, the South American and greater painted-snipes, are not considered threatened
A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...
by human activities; however, the Australian painted-snipe has declined and is considered endangered in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.[Lane, B.A.; & Rogers, D.I. (2000). "The Australian Painted-snipe, ''Rostratula (benghalensis) australis'': an Endangered species?". '']Stilt
Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates.
They have extremely long legs, hence the grou ...
'' 36: 26–34
References
External links
Painted-snipe videos
on the Internet Bird Collection
Vocal calls of painted snipe
on Xeno-canto
xeno-canto is a citizen science project and repository in which volunteers record, upload and annotate recordings of bird calls and sounds of orthoptera and bats. Since it began in 2005, it has collected over 575,000 sound recordings from more th ...
{{Taxonbar, from=Q494623
*