Greater Painted-snipe

Goudsnip · Rostratula benghalensis

A secretive, plump-bodied marsh bird with a long slightly drooping bill and a striking white eye-ring and shoulder strap. Roles are reversed: the brightly marked female courts several plainer males, who then incubate the eggs and raise the chicks. It feeds quietly at muddy margins, mostly at twilight.

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How to identify it

A skulking marsh bird with a long bill, a bold white 'spectacle' around the eye and a white harness over the shoulder; the female is the brighter one.

Listen for its call

The female gives a soft, repeated 'koot-koot' hooting at dusk, like blowing over a bottle.

Where to see it in Kruger

Hides in muddy, grassy edges of pans and marshes, mostly coming out at dawn and dusk.

Did you know

Here the female is the colourful one, and she leaves the dull-coloured father to look after the eggs.

Often confused with

African Snipe

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