Listen to the Eurasian woodcock
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About the Eurasian woodcock
The Eurasian woodcock is a bird in the family Scolopacidae (order Charadriiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 58 cm and weigh around 24 g.
What does the Eurasian woodcock sound like?
Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
From Wikipedia
The Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes are set far back on its head to give it 360-degree vision and it probes in the ground for food with its long, sensitive bill, making it vulnerable to cold weather when the ground remains frozen.
The male performs a courtship flight known as "roding" at dusk in spring. It is widely believed that the female will sometimes carry chicks between her legs whilst flying, though evidence of this is purely anecdotal. The world population is estimated to be 14 million to 16 million birds.
Related birds in the genus Scolopax
More from the family Scolopacidae
Common redshank
Tringa totanus
Common snipe
Gallinago gallinago
Common sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucos
Eurasian curlew
Numenius arquata
Common greenshank
Tringa nebularia
Black-tailed godwit
Limosa limosa
Eurasian whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Green sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
Wood sandpiper
Tringa glareola
Dunlin
Calidris alpina
Spotted redshank
Tringa erythropus
Frequently asked questions
What does an Eurasian woodcock sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the Eurasian woodcock on this page. Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
Is the Eurasian woodcock endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Eurasian woodcock as “least concern”.
What family does the Eurasian woodcock belong to?
The Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) belongs to the family Scolopacidae in the order Charadriiformes.
Sources & credits
- Chocha perdiz (Scolopax rusticola) y Mosquitero común (Phylloscopus collybita) by ChristianSW – CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q26114 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Eurasian woodcock – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Stephan Sprinz – CC BY-SA 4.0