Labrador’s Common Snipe – A review of Canada’s only record of Common Snipe

by Matt Holder and Jeremiah Trimble

The American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) published their decision to regard American populations of Common Snipe as distinct (Banks et al. 2002). What was once the North American subspecies Gallinago gallinago delicata has been elevated to species status G. delicata and given the English name Wilson’s Snipe, while the Old World taxon retains the English and scientific names of Common Snipe and G.gallinago, respectively. As a result of this split, the Birders Journal List of Canadian Birds was updated, and a decision was made to retain the Old World’s Common Snipe on the List based on a historical specimen record from Labrador (Holder 2003). This article provides background and a description of Canada’s first record of Common Snipe.

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The Identification and Migration of Breeding Plumaged Dowitchers in Southern Ontario

by Alvaro Jaramillo, Ron Pittaway and Peter Burke

Dowitcher taxonomy and identification have caused a great deal of confusion in the past. Originally, the Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus and Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus were described as different species. Due to the frequent observations of birds that appeared to be intermediate, the two forms were lumped (Bent 1927). In 1932 W.Rowan published a paper describing the newly discovered breeding population of Short-billed Dowitchers in Alberta and Manitoba. He decided that these bright looking birds were worthy of subspecific recognition, L.g.hendersoni (Rowan 1932). He also concluded that Long-billed Dowitcher was a separate species, partly because birds identified as intermediates were actually L.g.hendersoni.

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