Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe

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Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Thinocoridae
Genus:	Attagis
Species:	A. gayi

Binomial name

Attagis gayi
(Saint- Hilaire and Lesson, 1831)

The Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Attagis gayi, is a wader which is a resident breeding bird in the Andes of South America south from Ecuador.

It is a member of the seedsnipe family, a group of small gregarious waders which have adapted to a vegetarian diet of seeds and other plant material. It is found in the high Andes at up to 4000 m, although it can occur as low as 2000 m in the south of its range. It is very hardy, and does not move downhill even in harsh conditions.

Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, when on the ground, looks superficially like a partridge in structure and bill shape. It has short legs and long pointed wings, and looks much more like a wader or sandgrouse in flight. It is the largest seedsnipe at 29-31 cm in length and with a 19-21 cm wingspan.

The nominate race which breeds in Chile and Patagonia has scalloped pale rufous underparts, and reddish brown upperparts, with much barring. A.g. latreillii of Ecuador is deeper chestnut below and darker above. A.g. simonsi of Peru, Bolivia and northwest Argentina is intermediate in appearance.

The sexes are similar, and the juveniles are also very much like the adults, although even more heavily barred. The call is a harsh tchaaa.

The Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe’s 2-3 eggs are laid in a shallow scape on the ground, and the young are able to walk and feed as soon as they are hatched. .

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Attagis gayi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
Shorebirds by Hayman, Marchant and Prater ISBN 0-395-60237-8