In Asia, the distribution extends south to northern Turkestan, locally to Afghanistan and the Middle East, through the Altai and further to Manchuria and Ussuri.

The common snipe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Scolopax gallinago.

[5] Two subspecies are recognised:[4] The North American Wilson's snipe was previously considered the same species, and is listed as such in older field guides.

[7] The male performs "winnowing" display during courtship, flying high in circles and then taking shallow dives to produce a "drumming" sound by vibrating its tail feathers.

He demonstrated this in front of the British Ornithologists Union by inserting two snipe feathers into a cork which he then whirled around his head on a string.

[14] Common snipe nest in a well-hidden location on the ground, laying four eggs of a dark olive colour, blotched and spotted with rich brown,[12] which are incubated by the female for 18–21 days.

Populations on the southern fringes of the breeding range in Europe are however declining with local extinction in some areas (notably in parts of England and Germany), mainly due to field drainage and agricultural intensification.

[6][verification needed] Old folk names include "mire snipe", "horse gowk", "heather bleat", and the variant spelling "snite".