AUSTRALIAN PAINTED SNIPE Rostratula australis

Back in the 1980's I dipped one of these in Oz, but didn't put in a lot of effort because it wasn't split. The Australian species is larger, often more strongly marked, and far more difficult to see, being highly nomadic in response to rains. Five visits to Oz and I've finally seen one, but couldn't get a photo, so I've painted the actual bird from photos others took.

Click on the photo to return to "waders" or here for HOMEPAGE