Woodcocks are chunky, highly camouflaged waders that are found mainly in woodland (as their name suggests) or scrubland. It is closely related to the Snipe and has been around for millions of years. It breeds throughout Britain but is incredibly hard to find because of its commando stealth. The best time to see them is at dawn or dusk in spring, when doing their display flight.
Woodcocks have stocky, brown and black bodies and long, slender bills. Their eyes are located on the sides of their heads, which gives them 360° vision so they can see the enemy coming. Their call is a frog-like croak.
They mainly feed at night or in the evenings, searching for invertebrates in soft ground with their long bills. Their favourite food are earthworms, but they will also eat insects, freshwater molluscs and plant seeds. By feeding at night, they can rest during the day. They become almost invisible with their camouflage plumage unless accidentally flushed, when they fly away, zigzagging on whirring wings.
Woodcocks breed in broadleaved deciduous woodland with dense undergrowth, sitting motionless on the nest. The male performs a courtship display flight called 'roding' at dusk between April and June. This slow, owl-like flight is not territorial, but actually to help him find a well-hidden female. The cup-shaped nest is built in the undergrowth and lined with dead leaves. Mum incubates the 1-2 eggs which hatch after 21 days. The youngsters leave the nest immediately and hide until they fledge 20 days later. If threatened, mum can fly off carrying the chicks in her claws or on her back.
There are about 70,000 Woodcocks in Britain, with numbers increasing five-fold in winter as birds arrive from Finland and Russia. The first full moon in November, when these large numbers arrive, is sometimes called a 'Woodcock moon'. The breeding population has been falling in recent years, perhaps because of the loss of habitat as conifer plantations become too mature for Woodcocks to find enough open areas to breed. They are Red Listed. The average Woodcock lives for 4 years.
Their Latin name is 'scolopax rusticola' where 'scolopax' is Latin for a Snipe or Woodcock and 'rusticola' is the Latin name of a game bird mentioned by Pliny, possibly a Grouse. The cocker spaniel dog is named after them, as the dogs were originally bred to hunt Woodcocks. A group of Woodcocks is called a 'fall' and their fine pin feathers were highly prized by artists as tiny brush tips.