Woodcock
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Woodcock






Woodcock on a Nest
Photo by: USFWS
Nicknames
Timberdoodle, Woody, Bog snipe

Average Size and Weight
10" to 12"-5 to 8 ounces
Females are at the extreme end of these measurements

Description
  • Members of the shorebird family, woodcock thrive in the uplands, migrating north and south throughout their range. They are solitary and fly alone, not in flocks. They are round/oval, stout, and camouflaged in light and dark brown, rust, and black. The long and flexible bill aids in retrieving earthworms and grubs deep in the mud. Large eyes are set high and far back on the head; crown is thickly barred in black; and breast and belly are light tan. Tail feathers are black and white (luminescent in low light).
  • Sexes are nearly identical, but males overall are smaller, and total body mass and bill length should be examined. The outer three primary feathers also indicate sex, being relatively the same size on females and extremely narrow on males.
  • Aging is done by observing the light terminal and dark sub terminal bands at the tips of the inner secondary feathers. These feathers are mottled and blurry on adults, and the bands are distinct on juveniles.
  • When flushed, woodcock often angle upward toward the leaf canopy, dodging limbs and appearing to fly faster than they really are. Wind moving through the outer primaries creates a twittering sound.


Distribution/Habitat
  • They are found in all states east of the Mississippi, but heaviest concentrations are found in the northern states, New England, and southeastern Canada. They winter in most of the southern Gulf States, where ground rarely freezes and food is available. During migration, woodcock follow stream and river courses.
  • They are found in moist woodlands, tag alder thickets, near clearings and field edges, and clear-cuts of aspen from 5 to 15 years old, often with bracken fern.


Food
  • They feed almost exclusively on earthworms but also eat grubs, sow bugs, larvae, and other insects. Crepuscular, they feed and are most active just before dawn and just after dusk, flying to and from loafing sites.


Voice
  • Vocal mainly during breeding season when males utter low peents and melodious warbles and chirping.


Breeding
  • Males perform sky dance courtship flights after establishing territory and make penetrating, nasal peents (a soft warble precedes each peent). Flight is a long, circular path upward, and the male begins a melodious series of warbling and chirping at the top, finally sailing back to the same displaying area. Peenting and flights are repeated throughout the evening. A number of males can occupy the same dancing area.

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