American Woodcock

Bird Graphic

American Woodcock -
(Scolopax minor)

Audio

Identification

Medium-sized stocky shorebird
Brown above, light reddish brown below
Dark bars across top of head
Very long bill
Eyes situated near top of head
11" (28 cm.)

Habitat

Forest openings or edges
Open areas near woods for
courtship display and flight

Additional Information

Fairly common migrant and
summer resident
Game species in Wisconsin
Secretive
Most noticeable doing its courtship
     flight in evenings in spring; male
     does "peent" call on the ground,
     flies up in a wide circle with twittering
     wings, then descends to same spot to
     repeat calls

Comparable Species

Wilson's Snipe
Nighthawks make a similar sound

American Woodcock laying low among the vegetation

American Woodcock on the pavement

The Kickapoo Reserve Management Board acknowledges that the state and federal lands that comprise the Reserve fall within the ancestral homelands of First Nations people including the Hooçak Nation. We recognize the sovereignty of the Hooçak and other First Nations and will work towards a shared future by continuing to create collaborative opportunities to protect and preserve these lands.

Kickapoo Valley Reserve | S3661 State Highway 131 | La Farge, Wisconsin 54639
Phone: 608-625-2960 | FAX: 608-625-2962
kickapoo.reserve@krm.state.wi.us