Painted Beauty

Since I started birding in 2009, the Greater Painted Snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) has been one of my dream birds that I wish to encounter. Whenever I go birding in wetlands, I look for a suitable habitat for the Painted Snipe and I search for it. Pallikkaranai Marsh in Chennai is one of the good habitats for the Painted Snipe but, unfortunately, we are losing the habitat due to water pollution. Also, noise pollution in recent years is another factor that cannot be ignored. But still, there are sightings of this species and I searched for it whenever I was in Chennai. Once, when I was birding for a long time, I found another secretive bird in the marsh, the Yellow Bittern, but I couldn't find the Painted Snipe. When I moved to Bangalore and I searched for it whenever I went to the wetlands for birding I never got a chance to see it.


There are two wetlands near Palani, my home town. I have recorded many species in these two wetlands over the last 10 years. But I’ve kept on searching for the Painted Snipe. Kothaimangalam is one of the wetlands when many waders come in the winter. Though I have recorded the Common Snipe there a few years before, I got a chance to record another snipe this year, the Pin Tailed Snipe. This is also a migratory bird like the Common Snipe.

Pin Tailed Snipe - Kothaimangalam Wetalnds [Photographer : Satheesh Muthu Gopal]

Another wetland is Idumban Kulam which is very close to Palani town. From the northern bund of the lake the beautiful view of the Palani hills can be seen. A major water source for this lake is the river that flows from the Palani hills. Sandpipers waded on the muddy areas near the lake. Though the Painted Snipe is a resident bird, they are very secretive. A friend of mine, Vishaka Guru, found the Painted Snipe in Idumban Kulam and informed me about it's presence. When I went there with another bird enthusiast, Karthi, he found the Painted Snipes that week and I felt I could photograph it that morning.

We parked our two-wheelers near a well in which we found a lot of Baya weavers (Ploceus philippinus) nesting. They were very active in the early morning hours. But we were focused on the Painted Snipe and moved, reaching the northern bund. The hills across us, glistened in the sunrise. We could see the grasslands near Pazhamputhur in the upper slopes.

It was the beginning of the southwest monsoon. The water level was low and muddy along the periphery, and most places were covered with lilies, blocking our view from what was beneath. We waited for a long time but couldn't spot any Painted Snipe. We decided to walk south and wait. A flock of Cotton Pygmy Goose (Nettapus coromandelianus) was circling above the lake now and then. A lone Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica) was sitting on an outcrop in the middle of the lake. There were Spot-billed Ducks flying above us and scatting on the lake.

The lake is a very good habitat for the Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus) and there were quite a few that day. There were juvenile darters (Anhinga melanogaster), partially white in colour, perched on a tree. We both observed all these birds but couldn't find a Painted Snipe. We stood apart and searched separately in different areas. Suddenly I heard a call of the Painted Snipe and Karthi was looking at me, wondering whether I had noticed. We heard the call again and again, but the water lilies hid the beauties somewhere. We got tired and came back to where we had begun. Two stray dogs, probably the regular visitors to the lake, jumped into the lake and tried to catch the Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus). Stray dogs are a major threat to wildlife nowadays. The lucky Stilt escaped from the dogs but the ambience was disturbed.

We would have easily spotted the Painted Snipe by playing a call of the bird on our mobile phones. But we felt it is unethical and decided to give up: our search had begun at exactly 6:00 am and it was 10 am. The four hours yielded many sightings but my wish was not fulfilled. We returned to the well and the Baya weavers were still active. Farmers in Tamil Nadu say that if the Baya Weavers nest at the top of the well the monsoon will bring more rain.

Greater Painted Snipe - Idumban Kulam [Photographer : Karthik Hari]

The next day, Karti and I reached the same place at the same time. We went in different directions and Karthi heard the call. I rushed to the spot and searched. It was a pleasant cloudy morning. A peafowl (Pavocristatus) called just behind us and the gentle breeze gave the air a freshness. There was no human activity and the bird's noise was slowly louder. It was a small bush with grass on the shore of the lake, where a few small birds hid. One of them emerged and it was a Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis).

I had a deep long breath. Then, after a few minutes, a Common Coot (Fulica atra)appeared. The peafowl still calling behind us. The monsoon clouds were covering the upper Palani hills at a distance. I focused on the place where we heard the call and in another 5 minutes, a pair of Greater Painted Snipe appeared, wading and one behind the other, their tails wagging. We watched them for 10 minutes. Unlike most of the other bird species, sexual dimorphism is reversed in the Painted Snipe, the male being duller than the female. Though the male revealed himself much, the female was still hiding. We took a few photographs and moved on. The Peafowl was still calling and the Baya Weavers’ nests were swaying in the breeze. Karti and I went up to the Palani hills to search for another species.

Article Published in Leaf Litter Magazine Sep 2021. ©Satheesh Muthu Gopal

Read my other articles and leave your comments below.

Lunch With a Falcon

The remaining grasslands of Palani Hills

Palani Hills - Shrinking Heaven





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34 Comments

  1. Wow.. You’re nailing it in every writing admin! Keep going 😍🔥🔥🔥

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  2. Fantastic fantastic journey of spotting the Greater painted snipe it was one of the best find in Palani 😍😍 Reading it made me visualise the journey. Thank you so much for mentioning 🙏🏽🙌🏼 Happy to be a part this birding journey with an expert like you 🤩😇

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  3. Wow, you have documented all the birds and animal presence, Really gives the feeling of being with you that time to witness the painted snipe. Karthi a selfstarted birds really admire us in many moments on his passion towards birding... Vishaka guru one who started birding recently has been going like a rocket in searching of birds... Your mentorship and inspiration made birders around you.....Keep going...

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  4. Nice report on your search for the Painted Snipe. Please search for Prof. Daniel Wesley's article (old one-look for it in the archives) on breeding of the Greater Painted Snipe in Newsletter for Birdwatchers.
    All the best

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  5. I have seen painted Snipe in Lalbagh lake in the 90s. Theodore Baskaran

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  6. Good Satheesh, you studied and researched many things. In your studies you mentioned about pollution, is anything action taken to improve nature environment? By Sashidar Subramanian

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    Replies
    1. The good news is court has ordered not to dredge the Pallikaranai Marsh. Earlier Mr.Sundarrajan from Poovulagu filed PIL for this issue.

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  7. Excellent work Sathis. Keep go on. We also try our level best to support you. :)

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  8. Excellent write up, Satheesh. Taking the reader to the spot with you - Arun

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  9. Great effort and dedication to capture great painted snipe sir, as usual your you presented it with well informative way...
    Greate and congratulations. 💐💐💐

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Venkatesh. Happy to have a reader like you. Always motivates me to write 😊

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  10. Wow. Your writing was like a virtual tour. And I feel like, i was with you in search of the birds. Eagerly waiting to birding with you ❤️❤️

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  11. Wow amazing sir keep rocking 👍

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  12. Nice narrative.... Keep going.... Wish to be with you once...

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    Replies
    1. I have recorded some rare species at Velampatti itself... those are birds of dry land (பாலை நிலப் பறவைகள்)

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