Greater Painted-Snipe

Rostratula benghalensis

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
FamilyRostratulidae (Painted-snipes)
GenusRostratula (Old World Painted-snipes)
SpeciesRostratula benghalensis (Greater Painted-Snipe)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Ruaha National Park

5 Verified sightings at Ruaha National Park From 2019 to 2026

1,760 Verified sightings across all 59 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Greater Painted-Snipe

The greater painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) is a species of wader in the small painted-snipe family Rostratulidae. It widely distributed across Africa and southern Asia and is found in a variety of wetland habitats, including swamps and the edges of larger water bodies such as lakes and rivers. This species is sexually dimorphic with the female being larger and more brightly coloured than the male. The female is normally polyandrous with the males incubating the eggs and caring for the young.

The greater painted-snipe was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the rails in the genus Rallus and coined the binomial name Rallus benghalenis. Linnaeus based his account on the "Bengall water rail" that had been described and illustrated in 1738 by the English naturalist Eleazar Albin in his A Natural History of Birds. Albin had examined a drawing that had been sent to the English silk-pattern designer Joseph Dandridge from Bengal. The greater painted-snipe is now placed with the Australian painted-snipe in the genus Rostratula that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Ruaha National Park

Vanellus albiceps

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

Burhinus vermiculatus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Actitis hypoleucos

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Vanellus coronatus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Vanellus armatus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Vanellus spinosus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Himantopus himantopus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Tringa glareola

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Burhinus capensis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Tringa nebularia

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Actophilornis africanus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Tringa ochropus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Amboseli National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
2	Niokolo-Koba National Park	🇸🇳 Senegal	~10%
3	Ranthambore National Park	🇮🇳 India	~10%
4	Keoladeo National Park	🇮🇳 India	~10%
5	Gonarezhou National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	~10%
6	Mikumi National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
7	Nairobi National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	<5%
8	Lower Zambezi National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	<5%
9	Chobe National Park	🇧🇼 Botswana	<5%
10	Semuliki National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	<5%
11	South Luangwa National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	<5%
12	Moremi Game Reserve	🇧🇼 Botswana	<5%
13	Kruger National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	<5%
14	Kafue National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	<5%
15	Hwange National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	<5%
16	Murchison Falls National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	<5%
17	Ngorongoro Conservation Area	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
18	Chitwan National Park	🇳🇵 Nepal	<5%
19	Wilpattu National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	<5%
20	Tsavo East National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	<5%
21	Mana Pools National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	<5%
22	Tarangire National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
23	Satpura National Park	🇮🇳 India	<5%
24	Kanha National Park	🇮🇳 India	<5%
25	Arusha National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
26	Etosha National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	<5%
27	Samburu National Reserve	🇰🇪 Kenya	<5%
28	Lake Mburo National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	<5%
29	Manas National Park	🇮🇳 India	<5%
30	Masai Mara National Reserve	🇰🇪 Kenya	<5%
31	Queen Elizabeth National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	<5%
32	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	<5%
33	Lake Nakuru National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	<5%
34	Tsavo West National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	<5%
35	Bandhavgarh National Park	🇮🇳 India	<5%
36	Serengeti National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
37	Yala National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	<5%
38	Kaziranga National Park	🇮🇳 India	<5%
39	Jim Corbett National Park	🇮🇳 India	<5%
40	Virunga National Park	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	<5%
41	Khao Yai National Park	🇹🇭 Thailand	<5%
42	Cat Tien National Park	🇻🇳 Vietnam	Insufficient data
43	Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
44	Table Mountain National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
45	Garden Route National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
46	Ruaha National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data
47	Kidepo Valley National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	Insufficient data
48	Royal Bardia National Park	🇳🇵 Nepal	Insufficient data
49	Gorongosa National Park	🇲🇿 Mozambique	Insufficient data
50	Meru National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	Insufficient data
51	Kerinci Seblat National Park	🇮🇩 Indonesia	Insufficient data
52	Ranomafana National Park	🇲🇬 Madagascar	Insufficient data
53	Akagera National Park	🇷🇼 Rwanda	Insufficient data
54	Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
55	Lake Manyara National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data
56	Ankarafantsika National Park	🇲🇬 Madagascar	Insufficient data
57	Sundarbans National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
58	Mudumalai National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
59	Doi Inthanon National Park	🇹🇭 Thailand	Insufficient data

← Back to Ruaha National Park

Greater Painted-Snipe

About the Greater Painted-Snipe

Recent sightings of Greater Painted-Snipe in Ruaha National Park

Closest Relatives at Ruaha National Park

White-headed Lapwing

Water Thick-knee

Common Sandpiper

Crowned Lapwing

Blacksmith Lapwing

Spur-winged Lapwing

Black-winged Stilt

Wood Sandpiper

Spotted Thick-knee

Common Greenshank

African Jacana

Green Sandpiper

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found