The Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes are set far back on its head to give it 360-degree vision and it probes in the ground for food with its long, sensitive bill, making it vulnerable to cold weather when the ground remains frozen.

The male performs a courtship flight known as "roding" at dusk in spring. It is widely believed that the female will sometimes carry chicks between her legs whilst flying, though evidence of this is purely anecdotal. The world population is estimated to be 14 million to 16 million birds.

Taxonomy

thumb|Eurasian Woodcock, Mangpoo, Darjeeling, West Bengal

The Eurasian woodcock was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the current binomial name Scolopax rusticola. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock. The specific epithet rusticola is the Latin name of a gamebird mentioned by Pliny the Elder and Marcus Valerius Martialis. It was possibly a grouse. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. Its closest relatives are the other woodcocks in the genus Scolopax.

This species is the woodcock found through most of temperate and subarctic Eurasia. Northern and Asian populations migrate to southern Europe or the Indian subcontinent, respectively. Birds in milder western European countries and on Atlantic islands

thumb|left|Habitat: [[Białowieża National Park, Poland]]

The Eurasian woodcock has a large range, with an estimated Global Extent of Occurrence of 10 million square kilometres and a population of an estimated 15 million to 16 million birds. Because of its large range, stable population trend and large population size, the species has been evaluated as Least Concern. The most important threat to the population of the Eurasian woodcock in the breeding range is the increased fragmentation of its woodland habitat. At other times of year, a reduction in the amount of permanent grassland and an increase in the intensification of farming are also threats, They also prefer woods further away from urban areas. Switzerland, France and Russia.

Eurasian woodcock nest on the ground in low cover in woodland or tall heather. The nest is a lined cup

References

  • Eurasian woodcock photos at Oiseaux.net
  • Woodcock at RSPB Birds by Name
  • Ageing and sexing (PDF; 2.9 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
  • Feathers of Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) at Ornithos.de