Gallinago gallinago

CH — Critically endangered

CH — Scarce resident

Since the mid-nineteenth century, 90% of Switzerland’s mires have disappeared as a result of drainage and agricultural use. For this reason, many animal and plant species typical of these habitats are threatened, including the common snipe: these birds prefer to raise their young among the protective hummocks, hollows and grasses of moorland areas. They are dependent on damp soils, which they probe with their long beaks for insects and worms.