📸 PhotoPhoto: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Greater Painted-snipe
Rostratula benghalensis (Greater Painted-snipe · タマシギ)
🇰🇷 Natural Monument (Korea) «Greater Painted-snipe»
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its body length of about 26 cm is longer than a pencil (about 17.5 cm) and shorter than the long side of an A4 sheet (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Agricultural wetlands thick with water plants, such as fallow rice paddies, serve as its habitat, and in Hong Kong it is mainly seen in such places.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Greater Painted-snipe is a bird in the painted-snipe family found from sub-Saharan Africa to Pakistan, Indochina, southern China, Indonesia, and the Philippines, living in densely vegetated wet ground. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body length is 23–26 cm. Females are more brightly colored than males, featuring a broad white stripe extending from around the eye and rich chestnut on the head, breast, and upper back.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It hides in dense vegetation during the day and comes out into open areas at dusk to forage. Females lead courtship while males incubate the eggs and raise the young, with a typical clutch of 4 eggs per nest.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
In Korea, it was designated as a Natural Monument (Korea) on March 17, 2005.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2024) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22735810/265008190
- • 천연기념물 «호사도요» — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001685 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001685
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • Korean protection status: Natural Monument (Korea) «Greater Painted-snipe»
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 265008190
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001685 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001685
- • heritage.go.kr — culSelectDetail.do
- • wikidata.org — Q31617
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Greater Painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) male, K
- • avifauna.hkbws.org.hk — 011300
- • nparks.gov.sg — 271
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.