The American woodcock ( Scolopax minor ), often called "timberdoodle," is a unique shorebird adapted to wooded environments. It is distinguished by its long bill specialized for feeding on earthworms, a stout head with large eyes set far back for rearview binocular vision, and plumage with mottled, leaf-brown patterns that blend superbly with the forest floor. This article delves into the diet and foraging habits of this fascinating bird.
Description and Range
The American woodcock has a mottled brown back with a grayish-brown head covered with black bars across the crown. The earthy coloration helps woodcock blend in with the forest floor. These short-legged, plump birds have long, flexible bills capable of opening near the tip, even when plunged into the ground. Interestingly enough, the tip of the bill has a concentration of nerve endings which likely help woodcock sense their prey in the soil. Woodcock also have short, rounded wings which help these birds fly through dense forest cover. Adult woodcock can weigh from 6-8 ounces and can get up to 11 inches in length. Males and females look similar, though females are often larger than the males. American woodcock can be found throughout the eastern United States and southern Canada. In Maryland, American woodcock can be found throughout the state in the spring and summer. Most woodcock in Maryland migrate to the southeastern United States, though some will overwinter on the Eastern Shore.
Habitat Preferences
American woodcock live in young, second-growth forests, shrubby fields and open areas including old fields, forests clearings and bogs. They require four different habitat types: clearings for courtship display, moist, fertile soils with alder or dense second growth hardwood for feeding areas, young, second growth hardwood stands for nesting and brood rearing habitat, and large fields as night roosting sites. Woodcocks nest in young, shrubby, deciduous forests, old fields, and mixed forest-agricultural-urban areas across the eastern United States and southern Canada. They display in forest openings and old fields in the springtime, and they often use clearings for roosting in the summer. On the western edge of their range, they may depend on moist, wooded riverside areas and wet meadows in young woodlands. Woodcocks spend the winter in similar habitats in southern part of breeding range, also moving into additional wintering habitat in Texas and on the southern edges of the Gulf States.
Dietary Staples
Much of the American woodcock’s diet consists of earthworms due to their high fat and protein content. Earthworms provide about 60 percent of the bird’s diet and are major prey at most times and places. The worms are high in fat and protein, they provide the necessary nutrients to help keep woodcock healthy and strong. Insects also important, especially insect larvae that burrow in soil, such as those of many beetles, crane flies, and others. While foraging, woodcock will also prey upon grasshoppers, insect larvae, beetles, crickets, millipedes, centipedes and even spiders. Also eaten are millipedes, spiders, snails, and other invertebrates. Occasionally, woodcock will also consume seeds of grasses and sedges. Consumes some plant material, including seeds of grasses, sedges, smartweeds. An additional 30 percent of a woodcock diet consists of insects such as ants, flies, beetles, crickets, caterpillars, grasshoppers and various larvae.
Foraging Behavior and Techniques
American woodcocks forage for earthworms in young woodlands near water, in moist pastures and forested floodplains. They feed mostly by probing with bill in soft soil. Tip of bill is sensitive and flexible, allowing bird to detect and then grab creatures in the soil. American Woodcocks eat earthworms and other invertebrates they find in the soil, including snails, millipedes, spiders, flies, beetles, and ants. They forage by probing the soil with their long bills, which have flexible upper mandibles specialized for capturing and extracting earthworms. Woodcock primarily feed in early evening and just before dawn.
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Sometimes performs odd rocking motion while standing; possibly the vibration from this will disturb earthworms into moving; it has been suggested that the woodcock can hear sounds of creatures moving underground. They sometimes rock their bodies backward and forward as they forage, shifting their weight heavily from foot to foot. The vibrations from this motion may prompt earthworms to move underground, making slight sounds that the woodcock may be able to hear or feel.
Breeding and Nesting Habits
Males display at night in spring and summer to attract females. From mid-March to early April, male woodcock perform a courtship display in open areas. During the display, the male will strut on the ground and call out a nasally-sounding “Peeeent” noise. After strutting around, the male will then complete a series of spiraling flights before returning to the ground to strut and call again. This display will last 30-60 minutes and is performed at dusk. Often several males are close together in meadow, brushy field. Male gives nasal beeping call on ground, then performs high, twisting flight display. Female visits area, mates with one of the males. Male takes no part in caring for eggs or young.
Males mate with multiple females and give no parental care. Males may mate with several different females during the mating season.
Nest site is on ground, usually in open woods or overgrown field, in area with many dead leaves. Nest (made by female) is a scrape lined with dead leaves, other debris. Females make nests on the ground consisting of shallow depressions lined with leaves. Many times, these nests are built less than 100 yards from the male display areas. A typical timberdoodle nest is a slight depression on the ground among some dead leaves.
Typically, females lay 4 mottled eggs which are incubated for 19-22 days. Females lay one egg a day until she completes the normal clutch of four. Incubation is by female only, 20-22 days. The incubation process takes 19 to 22 days. It begins after the last egg is laid. The eggs hatch at approximately the same time. 4, sometimes 1-3; rarely 5 or more (possibly resulting from more than one female laying in same nest). Eggs pinkish-buff, blotched with brown and gray.
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Nest predators include domestic dogs and cats, snakes, skunks, opossums, raccoons and crows. Natural disasters, such as fires and flooding, can also destroy a woodcock nest. The nesting female is quick to abandon a nest if it is disturbed in the early stages of incubation. The longer she sits on the eggs, however, the less likely are the chances she’ll desert them.
Development of Young
Downy young leave nest a few hours after hatching. American woodcock chicks are precocial, meaning they are able to leave the nest within a few hours after hatching. They are covered with fine down - pale brownish to buff with brown spots, stripes above and rufous below. Female tends young and feeds them. After a few days, young may begin probing in soil, learning to search for food. From the day they hatch, chicks learn to “freeze” when threatened or in response to hearing the hen’s alarm call. She feeds the young for a week but they begin to probe for food on their own at 3-4 days.
Young can make short flights at age 2 weeks, fly fairly well at 3 weeks, independent at about 5 weeks. After two weeks, they can fly short distances. And at the end of four weeks, they’re almost fully grown. Not only are they flying strongly, but they have almost reached their adult size and weight. Chicks grow rapidly feeding on a high-protein diet of insects and earthworms. About a month later they become independent, moving around as individuals rather than with their siblings.
Conservation Status and Management
At one time, American woodcock were abundant throughout their range; however, recent population trends have shown a decline. Part of this decline is attributed to loss of early successional forest habitat. American Woodcock populations declined between 1966 and 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Woodcock are managed as webless migratory game in Maryland.
Steady human encroachment on moist woodland, timber maturation, and flooding pose threats to the species. Mortality factors include predation, accidents (many occurring during night flight), hunting, disease, parasites and bad weather. If a timberdoodle reaches adulthood, its life expectancy is about 1.8 years.
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Preserving even-aged habitats suitable for breeding, including large areas of shrubland and young forest, will be necessary to prevent further population declines. In an effort to address declining habitat favorable for American woodcock and 50 other wildlife species that benefit from similar habitat, The American Woodcock Conservation Plan was published in 2008, by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Woodcock Task Force which included the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) and partner agencies and organizations. This plan called for launching four regional habitat initiatives in the primary breeding range of the American woodcock.