| American Woodcock Identification Tips |
| (Credit: U. S. Geological Survey) |
| General
Information - Dumpy, short-legged, short-tailed, rounded-winged shorebird - Explosive takeoff when flushed, wings make twittering sound in flight - Very long bill - Very large, dark eye set high in head - Buff-brown head, breast and belly buff to pale cinnamon - Black nape crossed by pale lines - Dark eyeline and auricular stripe - Gray-brown back, with black and chestnut feathering interspersed between two pale Vs - Upperwings reddish-brown; underwings brown, with rusty wing linings - Rusty rump; dark rectrices tipped gray/white - Found in woodlands and shrubby fields - Sexes similar - Juvenile similar to adult Similar species Common Snipe is more slender and browner, without the crossbars on nape. In flight, the Common Snipe has much more pointed wings. |
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