American Woodcock

Scolopax minor

Audubon Illustration

John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.

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About the American Woodcock

The American woodcock (Scolopax minor), sometimes colloquially referred to as the timberdoodle, mudbat, becasse, bogsucker, brush snipe, night partridge, or Labrador twister is a small shorebird species found primarily in the eastern half of North America. Woodcocks spend most of their time on the ground in brushy, young-forest habitats, where the birds' brown, black, and gray plumage provides excellent camouflage. The American woodcock is the only species of woodcock inhabiting North America. Although classified with the sandpipers and shorebirds in the family Scolopacidae, the American woodcock lives mainly in upland settings. The population of the American woodcock has fallen by an average of slightly more than 1% annually since the 1960s.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name: Scolopax minor
Family: Sandpipers and Allies
Order: Charadriiformes

Similar species

Other members of the sandpipers and allies family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

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