The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) is a funny shaped bird best known for the males’ flight-displays in the spring. These distinctive dawn and dusk displays are amazing to watch as the bird spirals up to three hundred feet. Although the American Woodcock is in the same family as shorebirds, look for it in damp areas of forests and in swamps from Southeast Canada to the Gulf States.
Looking for the American Woodcock
This forest shorebird, a relative to sandpipers and phalaropes, is approximately 11” (28 cm), neck-less, with a round body. The feathers camouflage the bird to the forest floor. Its body is the brown color of dead leaves with broad bars on its head and a buff belly and breast. The bird’s large eyes are set high in the head and it has a very long bill, adaptations that help the American Woodcock to look for its favorite food, earthworms.
For their mating display, look for woodcocks near a field or forest clearing. Look for an area of open ground with some scattered shrubs that can provide daytime cover for the birds.
The Breeding Ground of the American Woodcock
Depending on the size of the field, it may provide territory for a single male or for several. A male may defend numerous spots in one field or shift between a few fields. The American Woodcock’s territory can vary from a hundred square feet to several acres.
Look for courtship displays throughout the spring and summer. These displays occur at dusk and again at dawn. Dusk displays last approximately thirty to forty minutes, while dawn displays continue for fifty or sixty minutes.
High winds, heavy rains, or temperatures below freezing halt the flight displays yet a full moon may encourage the birds to continue their display throughout the night.
The Flight Display of the American Woodcock
The woodcock starts its flight display with an explosive takeoff. It flies in wide circles about fifty feet off the ground. As the male ascends to two or three hundred feet and begins making smaller circles, listen for the wing twitter. Movement of the outer three primary wing feathers creates a twittering sound. The sound may advertise the bird’s territory or serve to attract mates.
As it begins its descent, it offers a flight song. The flight song is a series of chirps given for several seconds before stopping. The male then descends quietly in a zigzag pattern. Watch for the bird to land near the spot where he took off.
After landing, the American Woodcock gives a buzzy “peent” call every ten to twenty seconds to attract the females.
The entire display may serve the purpose of advertising the male’s presence both to competing males and to potential mates. However, no one quite knows how the females use these displays to select a mate. The pair will not stay together. The female raises her brood on her own.
Flight displays may occur through the summer, long after the females have finished mating. Juvenile males may be the producers of these displays.
Since the American Woodcocks winters in the southeastern part of the United States, its flight displays are a sign of spring returning to the north. If you are uncertain exactly what fields to go to in order to observe these dawn and dusk breeding displays, contact your local nature center, which may even offer times when they take people to appropriate sites to watch for the American Woodcocks’ spring courtship flights.
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