Snidgets

• Type: Magical Creature
• Ministry of Magic Classification: XXXX (According to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this classification is not due to any danger the creature poses, but rather the severe penalties attached to its injury or capture.)
• Status: Protected Species

The Golden Snidget is a small, spherical bird, notable for its golden plumage and brilliant, jewel-like red eyes. It possesses a very long, thin beak. The bird is exceptionally light and fragile, capable of being crushed in a human hand. Its most remarkable feature is its unique wing structure. The wings have rotational joints, allowing them to move in any direction with incredible speed and agility. This enables the Snidget to change direction with almost perfect precision, a trait that was later magically replicated in its successor, the Golden Snitch.

The Snidget possesses no overt offensive or defensive magical abilities. Its primary “magical” quality is its extraordinary speed and unique flight pattern, which makes it almost impossible to catch. Historically, its feathers and eyes were highly prized, leading to poaching. The bird's most significant role was its use in the early game of Quidditch. In a practice that began in 1269, a Golden Snidget was released onto the pitch. The two team's Seekers would compete to catch it. The successful Seeker would earn their team 150 Galleons (later 150 points) and end the game. This practice was exceptionally cruel, as the fragile bird was often crushed to death upon capture.

The use of Snidgets in Quidditch was introduced by Barberus Bragge, the Chief of the Wizards' Council, during a match in 1269. He released a Snidget and offered a prize of 150 Galleons to the player who could catch it. The crowd was enchanted by the bird's evasive flying, and the practice quickly became an integral part of the sport. This tradition led to the Golden Snidget being hunted to the brink of extinction. The wizarding population's demand for Snidgets for both Quidditch games and private sport was unsustainable. The species was ultimately saved by the efforts of Elfrida Clagg, who succeeded Barberus Bragge as Chief of the Wizards' Council. In the mid-14th century, she declared the Golden Snidget a protected species, imposing harsh penalties for its capture or harm. She also established the Modesty Rabnott Snidget Reservation in Somerset, England, named after the witch who first protested the creature's use in Quidditch. Following the ban, the sport of Quidditch faced a crisis, as it lacked a key component. This spurred the invention of the Golden Snitch by a skilled metal-charmer from Godric's Hollow, Bowman Wright. He created a metal ball that perfectly mimicked the size, weight, and flight patterns of the Snidget, ensuring the future of the Seeker position and the game itself.

While the Golden Snidget itself does not appear directly in the main narrative, its history is crucial to the lore of Quidditch and the Golden Snitch. Its story is discovered by Hermione Granger while reading Quidditch Through the Ages in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Hermione is appalled to learn about the historical cruelty towards the birds. This discovery serves to deepen her awareness of injustices within the wizarding world, foreshadowing her later activism and the founding of the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare (S.P.E.W.). The Snidget's history provides a key example of how magical traditions, while seeming whimsical, can have dark and cruel origins.

• The vast majority of detailed information about the Golden Snidget comes not from the seven core novels but from the supplementary book Quidditch Through the Ages.
• The creature is also listed in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which provides its Ministry of Magic Classification.
• In the film adaptations, the wings of the Golden Snitch are often depicted as feathery and bird-like, a visual nod to its origins as the Golden Snidget.