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Woodcock Scolopax rusticola   [Linnaeus, 1758]
Other Names Trends & Distribution Breeding & Survival Biometrics Books & Links

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Order: Charadriiformes Family: Scolopacidae
BTO Codes: WK, WOODC EURING No: 5290
Number in Britain: 78 thousand pairs (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK: AMBER
European: 3 Concern, most not in Europe; Declining
Global: Least Concern ( Details )
Links to: Images   Videos   Sound  
Status in UK: (A)  Migrant/Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
Subspecies: Monotypic
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Length: 34 cm Wingspan: 58 cm Weight: M/F: 280 g    
Scientific name from: Gr.: skolopax=the woodcock and L.: rusticus=rural +colere=to dwell
World Distribution: BREEDS: Locally in Europe & n&c Asia, WINTERS: south to n Africa & se Asia
Habitat: Damp woodland and heath
Diet: Earthworms, insects, esp beetles, also plant material, by probing in damp ground
TitBit: Its beautiful plumage provides almost perfect camouflage when it is on the ground - but one feather, the pin feather (the covert of the leading primary) was used widely, both as a delicate paintbrush and as an instrument to lift small objects, such as motes of dust from people's eyes.  

Population and Distribution

Population Trend: Wider Countryside Report
Regional Trends: No regional trends available
Distribution: Atlas Maps    (Local Atlases)   
British Population Size:
    Summer: 78 thousand pairs in 2003
    Winter: 1.4 million individuals in 2004-09     Note: Best estimate
    First Record: 8th Century [Fossil evidence from early Holocene, up to 10,000 yr ago]
    First Breeding Record: S England? early 1800s
    Latest Survey: Hoodless, A.N. et al. (2009) Bird Study 56:15-25
    Conservation Status: AMBER because Species of European Concern,
   Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 AMBER     1996-2001 AMBER  
   Races of Concern:
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
    No habitat data from BBS
European Population Size:
    Summer: 600 thousand to 1.6 million pairs
Population Assesment from Birds in Europe
Distribution in Europe
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WCA(II,III), WBD(II* & III*), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA
Survey Results: BirdTrack
Woodcock Network

Breeding and Survival
Egg Size: 44 x 34 mm Egg Weight: 26.5 g (of which 5 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records: 8
Clutch Size: 4 eggs
Incubation: 21- 24 days   by the: Female
Fledging: 15 - 20days as: Precocial, downy
First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1
Trends in Breeding Productivity
Number Ringed: 77 (Annual Totals)
Adult Survival: 0.610       
Juvenile Survival: 0.360 (in First-Year)  
Age at First Breeding: 2 years Typical Lifespan: 4 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 15 years 5 months 12 days (set in 1937)
Summary of Ringing Recoveries       

Biometrics
Ring Size: D or E (pulli E)
Wing Length Sexually dimorphic (male much larger than female)
Male: 203.9 ± 5.1 195 - 211 mm, N =28
Female: Insufficient Data
Weight Sexually dimorphic (male much larger than female)
Male: 291.1 ± 59.81 169.5 - 359.5 g , N =20
Female: Insufficient Data
Source:
British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data

Other Names
Eurasian Woodcock
Gaelic: Coileach-coille Welsh: Cyffylog
Danish: Skovsneppe Dutch: Houtsnip
Finnish: Lehtokurppa French: Bécasse des bois
German: Waldschnepfe Hungarian: Erdei szalonka
Icelandic: Skógarsnípa Irish: Creabhar
Italian: Beccaccia Norwegian: Rugde
Polish: Slonka zwyczajna Portuguese: Galinhola
Spanish: Becada Swedish: Morkulla
Collective Noun:Fall

For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
   Nethersole-Thompson, D. & M. 1986 Waders, their breeding, haunts and watchers Poyser, London [598.6 NET]
   Hoodless, A. 1995 Studies of West Palearctic birds: Eurasian Woodcock British Birds 88:578-591
   Ferrand, Y. (ed) 2006 Sixth European Woodcock and Snipe Workshop (IWS 13) Wetlands International, Wageningen [598.61 FER]
See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead