Lymnocryptes minimus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The jack snipe or jacksnipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) is a small stocky wader. It is the smallest snipe, and the only member of the genus Lymnocryptes. Features such as its sternum and its continuous 'bobbing up and down' make it quite distinct from other snipes or woodcocks.
The jack snipe was formally described in 1764 by the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich under the binomial name Scolopax minima. He specified the type locality as the Danish island of Christiansø. Brünnich based his account on "La petite béccassine" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The jack snipe is now the only species placed in the genus Lymnocryptes that was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The genus name Lymnocryptes is from Ancient Greek limne, "marsh" and kruptos, "hidden". The species name minimus is from Latin and means "smallest".
The common name has been said to come from the Welsh word for a snipe, giach (pronounced with a hard g), but modern dictionaries say it comes from the masculine name Jack. Alfred Newton hypothesized... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vatnajokull National Park | 🇮🇸 Iceland | |
| 2 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 7 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 9 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minsk | 🇧🇾 Belarus | |
| 2 | Jammu | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Jerusalem | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 5 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 10 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Jack Snipe sighting in Vatnajokull National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 61st most-seen of the 73 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Jack Snipe in Vatnajokull National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–September and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Jack Snipe sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Jack Snipe sightings, Vatnajokull National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, under 5%) and Hortobágy National Park (Hungary, under 5%).
Same family: Scolopacidae
The closest relatives of the Jack Snipe that you can see in Vatnajokull National Park (family Scolopacidae, Sandpipers and Allies) are Common Snipe (about 50%), Common Redshank (about 30%) and Whimbrel (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Jack Snipe is recorded against all the birds logged in Vatnajokull National Park (9 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
