The Snipe in the Marsh

A common snipe picks through marshy leaf-litter, its outrageously long straight bill and intricate cryptic streaks on full show. A shy wader that rewards the patient. Fun fact: The snipe's bill has a flexible, sensitive tip that can feel and grab worms deep in the mud without opening the whole beak — and its erratic escape flight is so hard to shoot that expert marksmen were once called "snipers."