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Woodcock Scolopax rusticola [Linnaeus, 1758]
Other Names
Trends & Distribution
Breeding & Survival
Biometrics
Books & Links
Order:
Charadriiformes
Family:
Scolopacidae
BTO Codes:
WK , WOODC
EURING No:
5290
Number in Britain:
8800 pairs (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK:
AMBER
European:
3 Concern, most not in Europe; Declining
Global:
Least Concern
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IBC
Status in UK:
(A) Migrant/Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
Subspecies:
Monotypic
.
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 mote
s of dust from people's eyes
Population and Distribution
Population Trend:
Regional Trends:
No regional trends available
Distribution:
New Atlas )
British Population Size:
Summer:
5000 to 13 thousand pairs
in 2000
First Record:
8th Century
[Fossil evidence from
early Holocene, up to 10,000 yr ago]
First Breeding Record:
S England? early 1800s
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
No habitat data from BBS
European Population Size:
Summer:
600 thousand to 1.6 million pairs
Birds in Europe
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of:
WCA(II,III), WBD(II* & III*), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA
Survey Results:
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 - 20 days
as:
Precocial, downy
First Clutches Laid:
Unavailable
Number of Broods:
1
Trends in Breeding Productivity
Number Ringed:
77
Adult Survival:
0.58
Juvenile Survival:
0.47 (in First-Year)
Age at First Breeding:
2
years
Typical Lifespan:
4
years
Maximum Recorded Age:
15yr5m
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:
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