English

snipe (common snipe)

Arapaho

céecéé’ihéíhii

Translation of the Arapaho

‘yodeler’

Location

the snipe can be found in marshes at low and mid elevations.

 

Snipes and the Arapaho

The name for this bird corresponds to the term used to describe the ‘trilling’ or ‘yodeling’ which women singers do on various ceremonial occasions - at funerals, for example, or at the Sun Dance. The sound of the bird as it does its descending courtship flight and call is viewed as similar to the sound the women make.