The American woodcock (Scolopax minor) is a small chunky shorebird found in North America. It belongs to the family Scolopacidae, which includes sandpipers, snipes, and curlews.
The American woodcock is a popular game bird with a distinctive appearance and interesting behaviors. Its cryptic plumage helps it blend into leaf litter on the forest floor, and its long bill allows it to probe for earthworms and other food. When taking off, the woodcock twists and turns in an elaborate display. The male performs spectacular courtship flights high in the spring sky. Let’s take a closer look at this fascinating bird and its family connections.
Physical Description
The American woodcock is a plump, short-legged bird measuring 10-13 inches in length with a wingspan of 17-21 inches. It weighs 5-8 ounces. The plumage is intricately patterned with browns, blacks, tans, grays, and rust colors to provide excellent camouflage among dead leaves and vegetation. The bill is 2-3 inches long and flexible, allowing the bird to grasp prey deep in mud or humus. The eyes are set high and far back on the head, giving the woodcock nearly 360-degree vision.
Range and Habitat
The American woodcock has a wide range across eastern North America. Its breeding range extends from Atlantic Canada west to Minnesota and south to eastern Texas. It winters primarily along the Atlantic Coast from Massachusetts to the Gulf Coast states. This species inhabits young forests and shrublands with plenty of cover and moist soil. It is often found along rivers and streams.
Behavior
American woodcocks are crepuscular, meaning most active at dawn and dusk. During the day, they rest on the ground hidden in vegetation. They probe the soil for earthworms and other invertebrates using their long bills. The tip of the bill is flexible and sensory, allowing them to detect prey underground. At dusk and dawn, they leave cover to feed in openings. Their eyes are set so far back that they can see behind themselves as they forage with their heads down.
During mating season, males perform spectacular aerial displays at dusk called “sky dances.” These involve flying high in wide spirals and then zig-zagging back down while making twittering sounds. Females nest on the ground in woodlands, laying four eggs that hatch after 21 days. The newly hatched chicks leave the nest within a few hours and feed themselves, although the female parent continues to brood them for warmth.
Taxonomy
The American woodcock belongs to the large and diverse order Charadriiformes, which includes gulls, alcids, plovers, oystercatchers, and many other shore and seabirds. More specifically, it is placed in the family Scolopacidae along with sandpipers, snipes, curlews, and phalaropes. This family is sometimes known as the “shorebird” family.
There are nearly 90 species in the Scolopacidae family found worldwide. They occupy a variety of habitats including shorelines, marshes, grasslands, and forests. Scolopacids are migratory and have long legs and bills adapted for probing in mud or sand. While the American woodcock lives mostly in forests, other scolopacids frequent more open areas.
Some key features identify birds as part of the Scolopacidae family:
- Slender bodies and long legs and necks compared to body size
- Long, tapered bills used to probe substrate
- Plumage cryptically patterned in browns, grays, and buffs
- Precocial young that feed themselves after hatching
- Migratory habits and aerial displays during breeding season
Within the family Scolopacidae, the American woodcock belongs to the subfamily Scolopacinae along with typical sandpipers in genera such as Tringa and Calidris. Some other related genera include:
- Scolopax – Typical woodcocks found in Eurasia
- Gallinago – Snipes
- Limnodromus – Dowitchers
- Phalaropus – Phalaropes
This subfamily contains mostly smaller shorebirds that frequent inland muddy or vegetated habitats. The American woodcock’s closest relative is considered to be the Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola).
Differences From Related Families
While the Scolopacidae family contains diverse species, members share features that distinguish them from birds in other families. For example:
- Plovers (Charadriidae) – More chicken-like bodies; frequent open country
- Sandpipers (Calidridae) – Longer straight bills; some are highly social
- Gulls and terns (Laridae) – Heavier bodies; webbed feet; many highly aerial
- Rails and coots (Rallidae) – Shorter bills; long toes; flightless or weak fliers
The Scolopacidae are more adapted for probing and wading than perching. Their bills are flexible sensitive tools for finding prey in soft substrates, unlike the stouter bills of ducks and chickens. Cryptic plumage helps them blend into vegetated habitats.
Conclusion
With its short legs, long flexible bill, intricately patterned plumage, and crepuscular habits, the American woodcock clearly fits within the Scolopacidae family of shorebirds. Shared traits like cryptic coloring, aerial mating displays, probing bills, and precocial young link it to other sandpipers, snipes, and curlews around the world. While many scolopacids frequent shorelines and marshes, the woodcock has adapted to forested environments rich in leaf litter. But it still retains the familiar attributes of its family, identifying it as a classic scolopacid shorebird.
Scientific Name | Common Name | Size | Habitat | Behavior |
---|---|---|---|---|
Scolopax minor | American woodcock | 10-13 in long | Young forests | Crepuscular; probes soil |
Limnodromus griseus | Short-billed dowitcher | 11-13 in long | Salt marshes | Probes mud for prey |
Tringa melanoleuca | Greater yellowlegs | 12-15 in long | Freshwater wetlands | Wades in shallow water |
Calidris minutilla | Least sandpiper | 5-7 in long | Mudflats, ponds | Pecks food from surface |
Gallinago delicata | Wilson’s snipe | 10-12 in long | Marshes, bogs | Probes mud for prey |
References
[1] Sibley, D. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
[2] Kaufman, K. (2005). Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
[3] Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). American Woodcock Overview. Retrieved from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Woodcock
[4] Muller, M., & B. (2020). Shorebirds (Scolopacidae). In Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/summary/fam/Scolopacidae
[5] Johnsgard, P. A. (1981). The Plovers, Sandpipers and Snipes of the World. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.