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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing woodcocks. There are currently eight described living woodcock species. These birds are found throughout eastern North America as well as Eurasia including island countries like Japan and New Guinea. Woodcocks are part of the snipe family of birds. I don’t know about you, but when I was younger I was taught “snipes” are a joke, but they’re real animals and woodcocks are some of them!

Depending on the species, woodcocks live up to three miles (3,200m) above sea level. Unlike other wading birds, like sandpipers, woodcocks are usually found in more dense habitats. This doesn’t mean they avoid open habitats entirely, though. Woodcocks separate their activity between habitats depending on the time of day. Dense forests are utilized during the day while open areas with scattered woodlands are used at night. Depending on the time of the year, as well as their location, woodcocks migrate to warmer wintering grounds, however, they’re some of the first breeders of the spring season.

Male woodcocks take to the skies to entice partners. They make a variety of calls to attract a mate, one of which sounds like this. Woodcock males may mate with multiple females. The female constructs the nest, though it may be no more than a small scraping on the ground. Four eggs are laid and incubated solely by the female for about three weeks. The eggs hatch all at once over the course of a few hours, and the chicks leave the nest within their first day of life.

They remain with their mother for about a month, and reports suggest that she keeps them safe from predators by carrying them around on her feet or back if a threat is detected. There’s even observations of a female flying with her babies aboard her back! After a month, the chicks can fly and gain independence. They’re ready to breed a year later. Outside of the breeding season, these birds are generally solitary, though small, impermanent flocks may be spotted.

Woodcocks are also known as night partridges, bog suckers, and timberdoodles. Comment your favorite of these names below! These birds average the same weight as a human heart and have just under a two foot wingspan depending on the species. Males and females look similar, though males may be slightly smaller. Their beak can reach over three inches (7.6cm) in length and is specifically used for digging in the ground for their primary food source. They eat earthworms and also take snails, spiders, flies, millipedes, and more. Like kiwis, who also use their unique nose for finding food, woodcocks are mostly ground dwelling birds where their brown feathers and barring helps camouflage them against the forest floor.

You may know woodcocks from the videos of them circulating the internet that show them bobbing while they walk. It’s unknown why they do this, but one hypothesis is that they’re alerting predators that they’re aware of the predator’s presence and it would be futile to try and attack. If there’s one thing we can be certain of, it’s that this walk is captivating!

Predators to woodcocks include peregrine falcons, hawks, owls, skunks, raccoons, crows, snakes, and more. While there is limited information on all woodcock species, the American woodcock is known to live about eight years in the wild if they can avoid these threats. Thankfully for woodcocks, they have excellent vision for detecting predators due to the location of their eyes. Woodcock eyes are situated further back on the skull compared to other birds thus giving these birds a 360 degree field of view.

For more facts on woodcocks, check out the links below. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today. Thank you to our Patron, Radio K Man, for today’s request! Support from Patreon helps ensure this channel will stick around for years to come, and helps fund the development of new content! Thanks for watching Animal Fact Files!