American Woodcock —Ross Feldner Spending much of their daylight time in forests and bogs they are well camouflaged to blend into the forest floor and leaf debris with light brown, black, buff, and gray-brown tones. American Woodcocks spend most of their time hidden while probing the ground for food such as earthworms, grasshoppers, insect larvae, beetles, crickets, millipedes, centipedes, even spiders. Occasionally, woodcock will also consume seeds of grasses and sedges.
Their food of choice is earthworms due to their high fat and protein content. These short-legged, plump birds have long, flexible bills capable of opening near the tip, even when plunged into the ground. Interestingly, the tip of the bill has a concentration of nerve endings which likely help woodcock sense their prey in the soil. Their eyes are set far back on their heads to allow them to scan for trouble while probing deep into the ground. They have short, rounded wings which help these birds fly through dense forest cover. For reasons unknown, they rock back and forth while walking along the ground and are famous for their conspicuous flying displays on spring nights. | |
