Wanna Go Snipe Hunting?

When we first spotted these two mud-feeding birds, I thought they were woodcocks, because of their shape. It was not until I got home that I learned they are snipe. They use their long, long bill to drill into the mud for worms, crustaceans, frogs, insects and seeds.

They are called common snipe and, while this was my first time ever seeing them, apparently they are common enough to be game birds. Their secretive manner is what makes it uncommon to see them. 

An interesting fact I learned when I was researching this bird is that the brains of woodcocks and snipe are upside-down relative to the position of other birds. What a bird brain!