Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay (B), Venezuela.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 40,000 - 1,000,000 (2010).
South American Snipe (Gallinago paraguaiae) [XC596081]
by Cristian Pinto Fernandez from Foz do Igua\u00e7u, Foz do Igua\u00e7u, Paran\u00e1, Brazil (call)
South American Snipe (Gallinago paraguaiae) [XC644108]
by Guillermo Treboux from Savane ancien a\u00e9rodrome, Matoury, French Guiana (song, ground song)
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) and perhaps African Snipe (Gallinago nigripennis), and all occasionally considered conspecific. Subspecies andina has often been regarded as full species, and magellanica too may be close to separate species status. Possible subspecies innotata, from R Loa, northern Chile, proposed on basis of densely barred underwing-coverts and on occasion has even been considered separate species.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
paraguaiae (Vieillot, 1816) - Eastern Colombia through Venezuela to the Guianas, and south through eastern Peru and west, central and southern Brazil to northern Argentina and Uruguay; Trinidad and possibly Tobago.
andina (Taczanowski, 1875) - Andes of northern Peru to north-western Argentina and northern Chile.
magellanica (King, PP, 1828) - Central Chile and central Argentina south to Tierra del Fuego; Falkland Is.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet