Woodcock are solitary birds that are usually intimately connected with water and live as close as possible to it. What a name, by the way. Typing it over and over makes me want to start writing tongue twisters that you say really fast, like... How much wood could a woodcock chop if a woodcock's cock had wood? What the??? WTF? Anyway, back to the blog post...
These birds, however, have
adapted to living in forested or wooded areas, coniferous or deciduous,
and in thickets and heathland. They seem to prefer damp places though,
and are occasionally found near stagnant pools and forest-bound lakes.
They have a very special diet; in fact, they feed almost exclusively on
earthworms, with the percentage being as high as 85%. The Woodcock bird
becomes active at night, or rather at dusk, when they go in search of
food among the litter of dead leaves, prodding the loose earth with
their long beaks. The tip of their beak is equipped with a number of
nerve endings which make it highly sensitive as a probing instrument.
You know, that reminds me, concerning birds with long beaks, when I
was writing about the interestingly strange Kiwi Bird, here: exotic-life-creatures.blogspot.com/2013/07/kiwi-bird.html
Anyway, during the day these birds rest on the ground among dead leaves, perfectly camouflaged thanks to their plumage (feathers). Provided they keep still, they are almost undetectable. If disturbed, they flutter quickly into the air and zigzag away amongst the trees and come to land some distance away. During the mating season the males make repeated flights to patrol and define their territory. At dawn and dusk they fly in a circle uttering very distinctive, low-pitched croaks. Woodcocks are some of the few birds which carry their young. They pick them up between their feet and fly off with them to some safe place; several journeys may be necessary for the removal of all the nestlings, since only one can be carried at a time. At any rate, that's a quick bio for the Woodcock; ha!
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
---End of Post "Woodcock - Bird"
Anyway, during the day these birds rest on the ground among dead leaves, perfectly camouflaged thanks to their plumage (feathers). Provided they keep still, they are almost undetectable. If disturbed, they flutter quickly into the air and zigzag away amongst the trees and come to land some distance away. During the mating season the males make repeated flights to patrol and define their territory. At dawn and dusk they fly in a circle uttering very distinctive, low-pitched croaks. Woodcocks are some of the few birds which carry their young. They pick them up between their feet and fly off with them to some safe place; several journeys may be necessary for the removal of all the nestlings, since only one can be carried at a time. At any rate, that's a quick bio for the Woodcock; ha!
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
---End of Post "Woodcock - Bird"
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