The Chatham Island snipe uses its relatively long bill to probe moist soils or leaf litter for earthworms, amphipods, beetles, and insect larvae and pupae. This prey, once found, is generally swallowed without the snipe having to withdraw its bill from the soil (2). These apparently monogamous birds breed between September and March (2). Males attract females with a night-time display flight and courtship feeding and then, as a pair, they select a suitable site in which to construct a nest (2) (5). The nest may either be a shallow cup made of Carex or Holcus leaves, or a simple, unlined scrape in the ground (6). Generally two, although sometimes three, mottled pale pinkish-brown eggs are laid and incubated for over 19 days by both parents (2) (6). The chicks are fed by the parents for the first two to three weeks of life, but are able to fly after 21 days and become fully independent at around 41 days of age (2).